Amnesia
by Skiefyer
Summary: Zuko gets amnesia and forgets everything about his life. The gang discover him and allow him to believe that they were friends. "If we're friends, then why did you tie me to a tree?" "...er...we didn't?"
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is probably not real compatible with the latter half of the third season...and probably takes place just after the beginning of the third season. The pairings are pretty much open ended at this point, I didn't really have any specific ones in mind...so if there's a particular one you want to see then let me know and we'll do a majority rules thing.

...

The morning light filtered through the dense canopy of the giant trees that marked the largest forest in the fire nation. As the sun's rays glinted off of the strange, gold-tinted, leaves the entire forest seemed to burn with light. It was oddly beautiful – a sight that had fascinated Zuko since he was a child. It was a fire that did not burn and did not destroy, instead living in harmony with the environment around it. Indeed, were it not for the combination of the sun's light and the tree's leaves, the fire wouldn't exist at all. The forest – the only one of its kind – was situated at the base of a huge mountain range that, in the early light of the morning, seemed engulfed in the same strange fire of the glowing forest. He breathed in deeply, surveying his surroundings, and fought back the sudden urge to cry. The last time he'd been here...

"_Look mum! See what I can do!" A little boy executed a perfect front flip and landed almost precariously on a small rock in the middle of a slight river. He wobbled slightly and then straightened, proudly turning towards his mother._

"_That's pretty good," his mother smiled at him and then turned as a loud cry sounded from behind her._

"_You think that's impressive?" Azula was holding a baby turtle duck by its leg, "watch this!" She tossed the turtle-duck into the air, did a quick backflip and caught it by the neck._

"_Azula," their mother scolded, "put that turtle-duck down this instant."_

_Azula scowled and threw it back into the water. The turtle-duck quacked emphatically and fled. Their mother shook her head and sighed. Zuko leapt back off of the rock and onto the river bank, but, as he landed, Azula smirked and darted forwards to shove him roughly._

"_Hey!" He cried as he lost his balance and splashed into the water below, he felt his head strike the bottom and groaned, water filling his mouth as the air was sucked from his lungs._

"_AZULA!" He vaguely heard his mother's yell as he floated slowly to the surface, dazed and somewhat uncertain of what was going on. Arms were thrust under his armpits and he felt his face break the surface of the water. He spluttered, coughing up the water he'd inhaled as he was dragged up the side of the bank. _

"_Zuko?" He heard his mother's worried voice distantly and Azula's petulant one in the background._

"_What a baby," she was saying, "it's like, three feet deep."_

"_You shut your mouth young lady," his mother snapped, "honestly; I don't know what's wrong with you."_

"_Hmmph," Azula sniffed and pranced off._

"_Zuko?" His mother stroked the side of his face, "are you alright?"_

_Coughing up the last of the invasive water, he sat up and blinked as the world started to spin._

"_Um, yeah," he said, disoriented, then, "why are there two of you?"_

_His mother laughed and hugged him close, "I was so worried," she stroked the back of his head. _

"_I'm fine," he pulled back – hugs were for __**girls**_** – **_and stood up, wobbling slightly, "see."_

_His mother looked extremely sad._

"_What's wrong?" He asked curiously, shocked to see tears gathering in her eyes._

"_I love you," she said, "don't you ever forget that, ok?"_

"_Mum?" He looked at her, confused._

"_Just promise me." She laid her hands on his shoulders._

"_I promise," he obeyed dutifully as his mother drew him into another hug muttering softly, "I will always love you."_

That had been the last time he'd visited the forest with his mother, the next day he woke up and she was gone. It has been the worst day of his life, it even bested his banishment. He felt tears gathering and angrily wiped them away. He still couldn't believe he was back home. It all seemed like some kind of dream, or worse, a cruel joke – he certainly wouldn't put it past Azula, in any case. He couldn't sleep at night for fear he'd wake up and be the banished prince again – the disgrace of his nation. And yet, try as he might he couldn't ignore the feelings of shame and regret that swelled inside of him. He had everything he'd wanted since the day of his banishment, but it felt empty, meaningless. He had betrayed his Uncle, the only father he had truly ever known. He had all but physically stabbed him in the back and that shame, he knew, he would never be rid of.

Suddenly he heard a loud roar, and, reflexes kicking in, leapt around to face the source of the noise. It was a giant fire-lizard or salamander - a cousin of the dragons his family had wiped out years ago – a creature unique to the fire-forests. He took a step back; fire-lizards were dangerous, fast, and well, huge. The one he was currently facing looked middle-sized for its species but was still easily three times as big as an Ostrich-horse, and four times as wide. It roared at him, releasing a sizeable ball of fire from its maw. Zuko ducked and countered with a swift punch, the fire shooting from his fist and dissipating the moment it touched the hide of the lizard. What was it he'd read about them? Oh yeah, fire-resistant hides...fantastic.

He recalled the stream and, ducking another fire ball, darted in the direction he thought it was in. The lizard gave chase, surprisingly swift for its size, it's long sweeping tail knocking trees down as it went. Zuko reached the stream and turned around to see how far away the lizard was, it wasn't far. Within seconds it reached the bank and was staring down at him, huge nostrils steaming. They locked eyes. It roared and Zuko leapt back, losing his footing on the slippery bank and crashing into the water. The stream – much deeper and rougher than he remembered – wasted no time in sweeping him away. Struggling to keep his head above the surface, he grasped a nearby floating log and half-heaved himself up onto it. Gasping, he clung to it, fervently cursing his rotten luck. The log bucked in the pull of the rapids and smashed him against the side of the bank, his head hit a sharp protruding rock and he blacked out.

...

Aang smiled to himself as the wind whistled past his ears and started humming in pure contentment. It was a beautiful day – fire nation countryside be damned – he was flying on Appa, and, despite the upcoming invasion, he was almost blissfully happy. Of course, there was tons of stuff they needed to do in preparation for his battle with the fire lord – namely, learning firebending – but on such a beautiful day he was hard pressed to even consider work.

"Hey guys," he yelled so he could be heard over the wind, "who's up for a swim?"

A chorus of agreement came from behind him and he grinned widely, directing Appa to land at the nearby lake. As Appa descended, Aang took a moment to appreciate the strange beauty of the fire nation forest. The entire forest seemed to...glow. It looked like it was on fire. Fitting, he supposed, that it resided in the fire nation. When Appa landed, they hurriedly unpacked and changed into their swimsuits.

"Last one in the water's a koala-sheep!" Toph raced for the water, Katara close behind her. Aang beat them both as he literally flew over to the lake, diving straight in and emerging with a content sigh.

"Cheater," Katara accused, splashing him.

"Ah, this is the life," Sokka announced as he headed for the water, "relaxing in a lake with no evil fire...," he trailed off as he spotted something further down the side of the bank. Curiously, he edged around the side and pushed through the large stalk-like plants that surrounded it. Reaching the edge he saw a teenager lying in the mud, his back facing him. Sokka moved closer and noticed he was wearing expensive robes. Actually, he sort of recognised the back of his head...Zuko, he knew with absolute certainty when he saw the face. Although he was covered in mud and...blood, it seemed, Sokka would recognise that distinctive scar anywhere.

"Aang," he called, "we have a problem." He was busy turned the prince over and examining his wound, when Aang emerged from the bushes.

"Is that..?" Aang crept closer.

"Yeah," Sokka stepped back, "where are the others?"

"Coming," Aang glanced around, "what should we do with him?"

Sokka shrugged, "leave him."

"But," Aang looked at the wound on Zuko's head, "he looks pretty bad."

Katara waded through the bushes and gasped, "Zuko?"

"He's unconscious," Sokka told her, "nasty cut in the head."

"An improvement, I'm sure,' she replied, pushing the plants aside for Toph.

Toph laughed and punched her in the arm, "good one."

"So what now?" Katara rubbed her arm, "I mean, we're not going to help him right?"

"Well we can't just _leave_ him here," Aang protested, "he could die!"

"So what?" Katara crossed her arms, "besides, I don't think he'll _ever_ die...unfortunately."

"He saved my life, once," Aang said quietly.

"And you saved his at the North Pole," Sokka pointed out.

"And he was doing it for selfish reasons," Katara griped.

There was a long, drawn out, silence. "I won't leave him here," Aang said finally

"But," Katara protested.

"Listen," Aang addressed them all, "a few nights ago Roku spoke to me in a dream,"

"He can do that?" Sokka asked curiously.

"I, uh I guess," Aang scratched his head.

"Well geez," Sokka crossed his arms, "that would've been _real _helpful the first time you 'had to talk to him', huh?"

"Mmm," Aang agreed and then shrugged, "anyway, he told me that we won't win against the fire nation,"

"What?" Katara's eyes widened as the other's blanched.

"unless," Aang continued, "the 'banished prince' joins us."

"Which I'm guessing you think is 'firey' over here," Sokka drawled.

"Don't know any other banished princes." Aang said, "so maybe this is more than a coincidence."

"But he's _Zuko_," Katara protested, "he's been trying to _kill_ us for months."

"Actually, he's only trying to capture Aang," Toph put in helpfully.

"Well, that warms my heart, really," Katara said sarcastically, "he's only trying to _capture_ us...how nice of him."

"Only Aang," Toph reminded her.

"Toph?" Aang turned to the young earth bender, "can you help me bend the mud to camp?"

She replied by stamping her foot in the ground, Zuko rose two inches into the air on his mud-stretcher.

"I don't agree with this." Katara started to walk off angrily.

"Katara," Sokka put a hand on her shoulder, "Aang can't just ignore Roku, the guy knows what he's talking about, and if we have to put up with an angry jerk in order to win this war, well, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"You're all forgetting one thing," Katara spat, "why on earth would _he _help _us_?"

"Er, we saved his life?" Aang said hopefully.

"Because that worked so well after the North Pole." Katara snapped.

"I don't know," Aang sighed, "but we have to try."

...

Zuko groaned slightly as he regained his consciousness. His entire body ached, and there was an ever present throbbing pain in his head. Gingerly he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings...or, at least, he tried to. It was pitch black. His first thought was a panicked 'I'm blind!', but as his eyes gradually adjusted he was able to make out some shapes nearby. He tried to move his hand to locate the source of the throbbing pain but found that he was unable to. Huh, he was tied to a tree. How odd. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here; in fact, he couldn't remember much of anything really. He struggled slightly, attempting to wriggle one of his hands free and, after a few minutes, succeeded. Who ever had tied him up had done a pretty shocking job. Slowly he prodded the top of his head and winced as the pain flared. How had _that_ happened? He blinked to clear the tears from his eyes and focused on getting his other hand free. Once both were untied he was able to slip out from under the rope.

As he stood up he felt the sharp pain intensify and he fell to his knees, head spinning. He felt disoriented and weak. Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground and lay down on his back, gasping slightly at the pain. Okay, he had to work out what to do. He'd clearly hurt himself – although he had no idea how – and had no idea where he was and, strangely, he couldn't remember much before he'd woken up. In fact, he couldn't remember anything at all. This was weird. He needed to get out of here and find some help...or something. Slowly, he sat up and paused, allowing the world to spin back into its usual place. He then knelt forward, paused, and then gingerly got to his feet, leaning heavily against the tree as he did so. His head pounded and he felt as if it would explode under the pressure. He breathed raggedly and, using the tree for support, took a few steps. He then took a few more. Letting go of the tree he began to walk properly, pausing every so often to reorient himself.

Now he had to decide which direction to go in. Obviously, since he'd been tied up, someone nearby was his enemy. Although, clearly not a very dangerous one if the ropes were anything to go by. So where were they? He could barely see through the blackness of the night, and the moon was a tiny sliver such that its glow barely made it to his eyes. He'd be walking blind and could run into his capturers at any moment. He had no way of defending himself, either. He'd been walking for about half an hour, when the first rays of the morning sun inched up over the horizon. Now he could just barely see his surroundings and they didn't look any more familiar than during the night. At least, he supposed, he hadn't run into his capturers – whoever they were. Half an hour later the sun had risen to the point where the entire forest was illuminated and he still didn't know where he was. Sighing, he gently lowered himself down at the base of a tree and dropped his throbbing head into his hands. Before he knew it, he'd started drifting off to sleep, the sun's warm rays caressing his skin, and, funnily enough, he thought drowsily, he was starting to feel a little better. He woke suddenly to the sound of voices nearby. Leaping up and steadfastly ignoring the pain in his head, he darted around to the other side of the tree and pressed himself up against it.

"Uh, I don't see anything." A male voice was saying.

"He was _right_ here," a female voice sounded accompanied by a loud thump, "sleeping against that tree."

Zuko's eyes widened, so these people were his captors, then? They sounded...young.

"Uh huh," another, deeper, male voice drawled, "maybe your feet need to get their eyes checked."

Zuko's eyebrow shot up, feet with eyes?

"Wait," the female voice said, "I think I feel something..."

Zuko tensed and prepared to flee.

"Probably just a bird," another female voice answered her.

"Yeah..." the female responded, "probably."

Zuko heard some shuffling and footsteps receding into the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief. A few minutes later he dared to poke his head around the tree, seeing nothing he walked out from behind it and ran smack bang into Aang. Zuko leapt back, ignoring the pain and spinning forest, turned around and fled. Aang, a little too shocked at Zuko's reaction to react himself just stared after him, slack jawed. The others ran out from where they'd been hiding and joined Aang.

"Did Zuko just...?" Sokka questioned.

"Yep." Aang replied, still in shock.

"Weird." And then Sokka began laughing. Slowly they all joined in at the fairly ridiculous sight of Zuko – I must capture the Avatar and restore my honour – fleeing without a fight.

"We gonna catch him or what?" Toph asked, impatient.

"Just let him go," Katara scowled.

"We have to," Aang sighed, "Roku hasn't been wrong yet. Sokka, you and Katara take Appa, fly ahead and block him from the front. Toph, come with me, we'll go behind."

"I've got a better idea," Toph said and then stomped the ground, "ok, let's go." They walked for a few minutes and then came to an area of the ground with Zuko's head sticking up from it. Katara stifled a laugh, "suits him," she whispered to Sokka.

Zuko was struggling to no avail.

"Who's there?" He called out as they approached, "leave me alone or I'll..."

"You'll what, exactly?" Sokka chuckled, "unleash the firey headbutt of doom?" He looked down at Zuko.

Zuko was silent, "What does that even _mean_?"

"He was referring to...you know what? Never mind." Katara scowled at him.

"Who are you?" He said, "and why are you chasing me?"

There was absolute silence for all of three seconds before Sokka burst into laughter.

"You should've been a comedian," he informed Zuko, "much better use of your time."

"It wasn't funny," Katara sniffed.

"Are you kidding?" Aang chuckled, "that was hilarious."

"I don't understand," Zuko growled, "I don't know who you are, I've never met you in my life, and if you're not going to help me out of here then please go away."

"Did he just say 'please'?" Toph asked, surprised.

"I think so." Sokka glanced at Toph, "is he telling the truth?"

"...yes."

"You are all so _weird_," Zuko groaned.

"We're weird?" Katara said angrily, "we're not the ones..." she trailed off as Sokka grabbed her arm.

"He doesn't remember us," Sokka whispered, "he must have amnesia or something, this our chance."

"Our chance?"

"Aang needs a teacher, Zuko doesn't remember he hates us, you do the math." Sokka released her and knelt down to talk to Zuko.

"We'll get you out of here," he said, "but you have to promise not to run away."

"Why?"

"Because you _do _know us, you just hit your head and it seems you don't remember."

"We're...friends?" He asked tentatively.

"Sure," Sokka replied with a wide grin, "we'll go with that."

"If we're friends," Zuko asked suspiciously, "then why did you tie me to a tree?"

"...er...we didn't?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay so the poll stands as following:

Zuko & Katara: 2

Zuko & Mai: 1

Aang & Katara : 1

Toph & Aang: 1 (At least, I assume that's what 'taang' is)

Sokka & Zuko: 1

Everything else: 0

...

"If we're friends," Zuko asked suspiciously, "then why did you tie me to a tree?"

"...er...we didn't?"

...

Zuko narrowed his eyes, "then who did?"

"How should _we _know?" Katara answered angrily.

"What tree?" Toph replied at the same time, "I never saw no tree."

"...er, puffins?" Sokka scratched his head, "Yeah, enemy puffins,"

Zuko blinked, "uh huh," he frowned, "so which is it then? You don't know or you do?"

"We don't," said Sokka at the same time as Toph's "oh _that_ tree."

"...right," Zuko twitched in a failed attempt to dislodge a horse-fly nesting on his eyebrow, "look, can you just help me out here? Please?"

"Did he just say 'please' _again_?" Aang whispered to Katara.

"Oh sure," Toph stomped hard on the ground and then pulled up with her hands. The earth rumbled and then Zuko shot out, flailed, and landed in a nearby bush.

"Gee thanks," he mumbled, pulling twigs and leaves out of his hair.

"Sorry," Toph shrugged sounding strangely unapologetic.

Zuko winced as his head started throbbing again and slowly got to his feet, "thanks," he nodded at Toph, "so now what?"

"Back to camp?" Aang suggested.

"I mean," he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "with the whole memory loss thing."

"Nothing much _to _do," Sokka shrugged, "but wait until your memory comes back."

"I...suppose," Zuko said hesitantly.

"Let's head back," Toph started walking in the direction of their camp. The others hastened to follow her, but Zuko hung back; unsure of how to act around them. He just wasn't picking up the 'friendship' vibe from any of them. Aang and Sokka seemed okay but Katara was downright hostile. He could practically _feel _the waves of hatred she radiated. He sighed, he had no idea who he was and he was surrounded by a group of people who _said _they were his friends while giving off vibes that ranged from terse ambivalence to boiling hostility. If these were his friends, he did _not_ want to meet his enemies.

"You coming, Zuko?" Sokka yelled.

Zuko looked at him, "is that..?"

"Yeah that's you," Sokka turned and started to walk off before stopping and turning back around, fixing Zuko with an intense look, "well?"

Zuko walked towards him, "I don't believe you," he said as he neared the other boy.

"Why would I lie about your _name_?" Sokka looked offended, "and if I had, do you _really_ think I would've picked _Zuko_ of all things? Please, give me a little more credit." Sokka pointed a finger at him, "if I'd done that you'd have ended up with something more like...meathead."

"Uh no," Zuko gave him a weird look, "...I"

"Or Beef Jerky," Sokka cracked up, "oh that's hilarious, beef **jerk**y!"

"...see that's what I'm talking about!" Zuko said, leaning against a tree, "you said we're friends but...well, none of you seem to even _like_ me."

"...oh," Sokka stopped laughing abruptly, "well, er"

"Did I do something?" Zuko asked, small frown on his face, "Before I lost my memory, I mean. Did I hurt someone or something?"

"Well," Sokka stalled as he tried to come up with something that wasn't quite a lie but obviously wasn't 'yeah, you tried to kill us...multiple times', "you kind of...cheated on Katara...yep, that was it."

"Cheated?" Zuko's eyes widened.

"With Toph," Sokka added, pleased with his creativity, "and yeah, you did."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, "I don't believe you," he crossed his arms.

"Why not? She's... cute." Sokka fought back a grin.

"I don't really know who you're talking about," Zuko grimaced, "and while I am feeling some hatred from the brown-haired girl, it's more like 'I hate you and I always have,' than 'I loved you, you cheating jerk'."

"Okay, yeah I was kidding," Sokka quickly invented a new lie, "it was, in fact, me that you cheated on...with Aang."

"Oh just _forget_ it," Zuko growled and stalked off in what he thought was the direction the others had gone in.

"Oy, Beef Jerky," Sokka yelled, "camp's _this_ way."

He scowled and stalked back the other way.

"Nah," Sokka laughed, "it actually is that way."

Zuko stopped walking and took a deep breath, let it out, and walked back in the direction he'd come from.

Sokka followed him, surprised he hadn't completely blown his top. Clearly, Zuko's incredibly short fuse wasn't something he'd been born with.

...

When the two reached the campsite they found Katara hard at work making lunch, while Toph and Aang worked on his earth bending training. Sokka immediately flopped down on the ground near Katara while Zuko, unsure if his presence was at all welcome, stood awkwardly at the edge. He watched Aang and Toph curiously, so they were both earth benders then.

"Oy, twinkletoes," Toph was yelling, "stop dancing around and face me like a man."

"I'm sorry!" Aang dodged another boulder and winced, "I just can't...stand there."

"You have to," Toph drew a large clump of earth from the ground and hurled it in his direction, "or you'll _never_ master earth bending."

Aang stood his ground until the boulder was five feet away then, panicking; he whirled the air around him and propelled himself over it. Zuko's eyes widened – he could bend air too?

"Damn it, twinkletoes," Toph cried angrily, "this is _useless_."

"I have an idea," Zuko ventured over Aang's numerous apologies.

"Sure," Aang readily acknowledged him, eager to focus the attention on someone else, "what is it?"

"If ummm," Zuko searched for the girl's name, "you," he pointed at Toph "sink his feet into the ground – like you did, me, this morning – he'll have less time to escape, and he'll be forced to stand his ground."

A wide grin lit up Toph's face, "that's perfect," she stomped her foot on the ground and Aang sank a few feet, amidst fervent refutations. "It's Toph, by the way," she informed him, "and twinkletoes over there is Aang."

Zuko nodded, "apparently I'm Zuko," he offered, "but you probably already knew that."

Toph just grinned at him and went back to tossing rocks at the newly incapacitated Aang.

"He can bend two elements?" Zuko asked Sokka, against his better judgement, but, to his surprise, Sokka gave him a straight answer.

"All four, actually," he grinned ruefully, "Aang's the avatar. Saviour of the world and all that," he waved his arms in the air to illustrate his point, "gonna defeat the fire lord and bring balance to the world."

"Oh," Zuko said, trying to remember anything he might've known about the avatar. He seemed to remember stories but they were vague and blurred, and his attempts to pull them to the surface of his mind failed, "why must he defeat the fire lord?"

"Oh geeze," Sokka slapped a hand to his face, "you don't remember that either?" At Zuko's blank look he elaborated, "the fire lord started a war against the rest of the world like a hundred years ago, and Aang's gotta beat him to end it."

"Why?" Zuko asked, "I thought the four nations lived in harmony.

"They did," Sokka replied, "till lord hotpants's father decided he wanted to rule the world."

"I see," Zuko looked over at Aang, "but he's twelve."

"Yeah well," Sokka shrugged, "don't let that fool you, I've seen him in action and man, it's scary."

Zuko was silent for awhile, "Sokka," he awkwardly seated himself near the boy, "what do you know of my past?"

Sokka frowned slightly and sat up, propping himself up with his hands, "not much," he said truthfully, "you were a really new addition to the group when you went and lost your memory," he smiled slightly as if remembering a joke, "a _really_ new addition."

"I see," Zuko looked at the ground, that would explain the general ambivalence if not the hostility, "and what was I doing before I joined you?"

"You were," Sokka paused and stuck to a half-truth, "a refugee in Ba Sing Se – an earth kingdom city – and when we passed through there, you joined us."

"Why?" Zuko turned again to watch Toph and Aang, wondering what exactly he could help them with.

"Well," Sokka wondered whether telling him he could fire bend was really the best course of action – what if it sparked his memory? But Aang needed a teacher and this was their best shot, "you offered to teach him fire bending."

"Fire bending?" Zuko looked slightly alarmed, "I'm fire nation?"

"Yep."

"But then, what was I doing in Ba Sing Se?"

"I told you, you were a refugee," Sokka raised an eyebrow, "don't you listen?"

"So then...my family?" Zuko wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Umm" Sokka actually didn't know much at all about Zuko's family, only that he had an insanely evil sister, a somewhat pleasant Uncle and a tyrannic father...," I don't actually know," he admitted, figuring the somewhat truth was better, "you were alone in Ba Sing Se, and we never asked."

"Oh," Zuko thought about what Sokka had said, "is that why Katara hates me, then? Because I'm fire nation?"

"...sure," Sokka agreed, "That's it all right."

"I see," Zuko looked at Katara, got glared at and hastily turned back to face Sokka, "so I can fire bend?"

"Yeah." Sokka winced slightly, "that you can."

"Well you'll probably have to find Aang a new teacher," Zuko informed him, "I can't remember anything about it."

"Oh it'll come to you, I'm sure," Sokka said lazily.

"Maybe..." Zuko glanced at Sokka, lounging in the dirt, seemingly without a care in the world, "so what do you, umm, bend?"

"I don't," Sokka frowned slightly, "but Katara water bends."

"Oh," Zuko looked away, "sorry."

"Bending isn't everything," Sokka informed him haughtily, "I just happen to be the idea, plan, and weapons guy in the group."

Behind him, Toph and Aang finished up and headed towards them.

"That was a great idea, Zuko," Toph told him as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah, fantastic," Aang grumbled.

"Twinkletoes is upset 'cause he couldn't do his pansy-bending and leap out of the way," Toph laughed.

"Everyone ready for lunch?" Katara asked, spooning her soup into a few bowls.

Sokka's stomach grumbled.

"That's a yes," Aang grinned at Katara, who gave him a bowl of soup, "thanks." She handed one to Toph and then Sokka, then practically threw Zuko's on the ground in front of him before settling with her own as far away as was physically possible in their little circle.

"Thanks," He smiled at her as he picked the bowl up. She scowled at him and he quickly looked elsewhere.

"So where to now, Sokka?" Aang asked, idly stirring his soup.

"Anywhere," Sokka shrugged, "the day of black sun's a week away yet, so wherever..."

"What's the day of black sun?" Zuko questioned.

"It's a solar eclipse," Sokka replied, shoving a spoonful in his mouth, "it's where the firebenders lose their bending."

"Lose their bending?"

"Yeah," Aang grinned, "and I'm gonna take on the Firelord."

"But then," Zuko was slightly confused, "why did you need me to teach you fire bending if you won't even be able to use it?"

Aang was stumped, "oh well, I don't know." He scratched his head, "I guess I don't then"

"You should still learn," Sokka put in, "it's you know, the avatar thing."

"But there's no point," Katara spoke up, "he could always learn it after, and from someone else." She glared pointedly at Zuko, "we don't need him."

There was silence, and Zuko wondered what kind of person he had been that no one bothered to argue against her. Clearly, his being here had been a matter of convenience.

"She's right," he hid his bitterness, "I don't remember how, anyway." He put the bowl down and got up from the circle. Without a backwards glance he headed for the trees, determined not to impose his presence on them if it was unwanted.

"That was unfair," Toph said quietly, "he doesn't even remember what he did."

"You never really knew him Toph," Katara said angrily, "and if you had, you wouldn't forgive him so easily."

"Well Aang doesn't seem to mind," Toph pointed out, "and he's the one Zuko was chasing."

"It is hard," Aang said, "but forgiveness is a big part of being an airbender – and the avatar."

"But he's done _nothing_ to deserve it!" Katara yelled, "he wouldn't even have joined us if it weren't for-OUCH," Katara glared at Toph, "what was that for?"

"Quiet Sweetness," Toph growled, "yell any louder and the entire fire nation might just hear you."

"What do you think, Sokka?" Aang inquired.

"I'm not so sure we should forgive him," Sokka said bluntly, ignoring the smug look that settled on Katara's face, "however, he didn't just decide to join us, we sort of forced him to. _We_ told him he was part of our group, so _we_ have to act like it."

"You mean, _you_ did." Katara groused, "I was against the idea from the start."

"It doesn't matter," Sokka said seriously, blue eyes steely, "it's happened and we have to deal with it."

"But Aang doesn't even _need_ a teacher," Katara protested.

"Yes, he does." Sokka said quietly, _"_our plan may fail; the eclipse only lasts for eight minutes, and for all we know the fire lord won't even be in the palace on the invasion day. Aang _has_ to learn fire bending." He directed this last comment at Aang, knowing that the air bender wanted nothing to do with fire bending in the first place.

Aang sighed, "I understand."

"Urrgh," Katara threw her hands up in the air and stormed off.

"But what if Zuko never remembers?" Toph questioned.

"I don't know," Sokka admitted, "but what else can we do?"

"I'll go talk to Katara," Aang offered.

"No," Sokka shook his head, "I'll talk to her, _you_ need to go convince Zuko to come back."

"Ok," Aang nodded resolutely and headed towards the forest Zuko had disappeared into.

...

A/N: Oh and the puffins thing was...Strix Moonwing's idea. I thought it was hilarious and just had to include it Thanks for the reviews guys, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So the poll stands thusly:

Aang & Katara: 5

Zuko & Sokka: 3

Zuko & Mai: 3

Zuko & Katara: 3

Sokka & Suki: 1

Toph & Aang: 1

...Where we left Zuko...

"She's right," he hid his bitterness, "I don't remember how, anyway." He put the bowl down and got up from the circle. Without a backwards glance he headed for the trees, determined not to impose his presence on them if it was unwanted.

...

He strode angrily through the glinting forest, no idea where he was headed but he didn't care. Where was he supposed to go anyway? He had no idea if his family were alive - or if they'd even want him if they were and his so called friends seemed to hate him...he was alone. And for some reason he couldn't pinpoint he just felt so _angry_. He felt it raging inside him, wild and uncontrollable. A fire, burning, restless, desperate to get free.

"Arrgh!" He yelled, fed up with the burning anger and the unnameable guilt that fuelled it. If only he could _remember_. Almost before he realised what he was doing, he punched the nearest tree and, to his amazement, the fire within him subsided. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, choking slightly as thick smoke invaded his airways. He opened his eyes – the tree was on fire!

"What?" He yelped, backing away from the burning tree. How had this happened? His eyes widened, hadn't Sokka said he could fire bend?

"Crap," he winced as the fire began to spread, "now what?" He muttered to himself, searching for something – anything – he could use to end the fire. It was rapidly spreading, the flames greedily devouring the branches of the tree. He hurriedly took his outer robe off and began to beat the fire with it – it spread faster. He swore. Now what? The flames covered his robes and he dropped them with a yelp. Slightly panicked – he didn't want to be responsible for burning an entire forest down – he paced back and forth in front of the tree trying desperately to think of what to do.

"Er...stop!" He commanded the fire...nothing happened. Well, it had been worth a try he supposed. Maybe he had to be more forceful?

"Stop!" He yelled at it, "Seriously, I mean it! Stop damn you!" The fire ignored him in favour of leaping over to the nearest tree.

"Arrrgh!" He glared at it, "what's the matter with you! Why can't you just _stop?_" He threw his hands up and growled...the fire seemed to get even bigger.

"Fan_tastic_," he muttered, "just _fan_tastic."

"Zuko?" Someone shouted from behind him, "What's going on?"

He spun around – it was Aang.

"I don't know!" He yelled, "It, it just – started, and now I can't get it to stop."

The young air bender practically flew towards Zuko, he was going so fast. "Why can't you stop it?" he asked as he reached Zuko's side.

"I don't even know how it _started_." Zuko watched as the fire moved onto another tree.

"Right, the whole memory thing," Aang said sheepishly, "ok, stay here." He sped off into the distance.

"...sure" Zuko said to the dust cloud that marked Aang's route. Ten seconds later he was back, a large wave of water floating alongside him. He lifted his hands up and the water spread – blanket-like – over the top of the fire, then pushed it down. The 'blanket' of water collapsed and doused the fire, leaving blackened trees in its wake. The two stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"...nice," Zuko offered, breaking the slightly awkward silence.

"Er, thanks," Aang rubbed the back of his neck, "so...where're you going?"

"Anywhere," Zuko looked away, "just, somewhere else."

"You don't have to," Aang said earnestly, "really, Katara's just...Katara, she'll get over it."

"Honestly," Zuko fixed his golden eyes on Aang's, "I don't believe _any_ of you want me here."

Aang had to fight the urge to avert his gaze under the intensity of Zuko's stare.

"Well," He gave up and looked away, "we haven't been friends for long, so..."

"Friends?" Zuko laughed mockingly, "Please, how stupid do you think I am?"

"Well maybe not yet," Aang looked at him, "but _I'd_ really like to be."

"_Why?_" A small fire seemed to flicker in Zuko's eyes.

"I dunno," Aang shrugged, "I just do."

Zuko stared at him, "you just _do_?"

"Yep." Aang smiled brightly, "so will you come back?"

"Well in the face of _that_ admission," Zuko muttered, an edge of sarcasm evident, "how could I not?"

"Great!" If possible, his smile got even _brighter_. Zuko just sighed and followed him as he headed back towards the camp. He took one last glance at the blackened forest behind him and sighed – why was it that he could destroy things when he didn't even _mean_ too. When they reached the camp site, only Toph was to be found.

"Oh finally," she leapt up at the sound of their footsteps, "I've been bored _stiff_ for the past ten minutes."

"Wanna go for a swim?" Aang asked, eager to do something other than training (which he knew Toph would inevitably suggest if he didn't distract her with something else, she just liked tossing rocks at him _far_ too much)

"Nah," she shook her head, an evil glint in her eye, "I was thinking more along the lines of...a duel."

"A duel?" Aang sighed.

"Yep," she grinned, "you, me, earth bending..."

"But we already trained this morning," he groaned.

"So?"

"So...so, Zuko!" He brightened.

"What about him?"

"Well we can't leave him out," Aang said, grabbing Zuko's arm, "and, and he can't bend...sort of, so..."

Toph seemed to consider the idea, "well..." she said slowly, "why don't we toss rocks at _him_ and see if he remembers."

"I...don't like that idea," Zuko quailed at the smirk on her face.

"I do," Toph rubbed her hands together with glee, "well, Twinkletoes?" she addressed Aang, "what's it to be?"

Aang oscillated between glancing nervously at Zuko and Toph for a few seconds. "Sorry Zuko!" He dashed over to Toph, "besides," he tried, "it could be helpful..."

"Did we, or did we not, _just_ put out a forest fire that _I_ started because I _don't _remember how to do this properly?" Zuko bit out, teeth clenched.

"Relax...hmm," Toph mused, "I need a nickname for you..." she mulled it over and then grinned, "how about Fireboy? No? It _is_ a little obvious...well, what about Hotman?" She chuckled, "yeah, Hotman it is!"

"What?" Zuko protested, "that's-"

"Hilarious!" Aang interrupted once he'd begun breathing properly, "I'm ready to begin my training," he said seriously, "Sifu Hotman!" He then cracked up.

Zuko drew a deep breath and sighed, "well, it's not as bad as Twinkletoes," he teased back, "at least mine's manly."

Aang stopped laughing, "Hey! It's perfectly...manly."

"Mmmhmm,"

"So," Toph said, "we ready to start, or what?"

"I still don't..." Zuko hesitated.

"Oh relax Hotman," Toph cut in, "with the two of us here, what could possibly go wrong?"

"What indeed?" He muttered.

...

"Hotman! You're supposed to _fire bend_ at the rock, or _move_ or something. Don't just _stand there."_

Zuko shrugged, "I figured if I just stood here you'd get bored or something." Another rock whistled past his ear, "Your aim's kind of off."

"I'm _blind_," she yelled, "and, you aren't _moving_. Twinkletoes, a little help?"

"Sorry Zuko!" Aang yelled as he drew a small rock from the ground and sent it flying towards him.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "wow," he deadpanned, "that'll leave a mark." The pebble-sized wad of earth thumped into his chest, "oh wait, I can't breathe..." he faked, then glared at Aang "this is _pointless_."

Toph growled and sent a large boulder flying his way. Zuko's eyes widened, he ducked and then looked behind him to see it crash into the lake, "I thought you were blind?"

"You breathe loudly."

Aang laughed and then promptly shut up when Zuko glared at him – old habits die hard. "Come on," he said, "just try."

"I...can't," Zuko dragged his hand through his hair, fingers lingering on the scar that covered the left side of his face – he wondered how he'd got it -, "I just, I don't know how to control it."

"Don't _worry_," Toph smacked him on the shoulder, "you'll get it if you _try_."

"Oh, I know!" Aang grinned, "Sink his feet into the ground, like you did me."

"Oh no," Zuko backed away, "don't you – TOPH." His feet sunk into the ground, "this _isn't_ funny," he growled at Aang, "I could hurt you."

"Oh we've fought you before," Toph said offhandedly and then froze.

"What?" Zuko narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean?"

"Oh you know," Aang covered up, "training, duels,"

"You're lying."

"Think fast, Hotman!" Toph yelled, leapt back, and hurled a boulder in his direction. Before any of them could even blink, Zuko had thrust his fist out and sent a burst of fire that shattered the rock in midair.

"Woo, yeah!" Toph punched the air, "that's what I'm talking about."

"You did it," Aang smiled, "you may not remember, but your body does."

Zuko gazed in awe at his fist, "_may_be," he looked at Toph – completely forgetting her slip up – "do it again."

She obliged happily, sending a sizeable chunk of rock hurtling towards him. Zuko thrust his fist out again and...nothing happened. "Oh crap," he barely managed to duck out of the way as the boulder sailed through the space his head had occupied seconds earlier. "Why didn't that work?" He growled.

"Maybe you need to be under pressure," Toph suggested, "since you don't really _remember_ how to do it."

"So basically," Aang thought out loud, "Toph just needs to keep hurling rocks at you when you're not suspecting it."

"Oh great," Zuko sighed; "now I'll _constantly_ expect it."

"Oh yeah," he said sheepishly.

"Hah," Toph grinned, "you won't suspect a thing."

Zuko looked confused, "but I already know what you're going to do."

"Do you?" She stomped down and Zuko's feet were released from the ground, "we'll see."

Zuko glanced at Aang, askance, "what have you _done_?"

...

A few hours later, Sokka and Katara reappeared at the edge of the campsite. Katara walked primly up to where Zuko, Toph and Aang were sitting, smiled somewhat forcefully at all of them, looked at Zuko, sighed and looked back at Sokka, returned her gaze to Zuko and grimaced, "I'm glad you're here." She attempted to smile again, failed somewhat, and then proceeded to seat herself between Toph and Aang, crossed her arms, and began fiddling with the grass. They all blinked for a few moments.

"Er, thanks."Zuko said awkwardly.

"Who's up for dinner?" Sokka called, distracting them from Katara's obviously insincere statement, "I caught fish."

"_You_ caught fish?" Katara raised an eyebrow.

"Okay so Katara water bended them out and I grabbed them," Sokka shrugged, "I still _caught_ them. I mean, those things can _flop_ fast."

They all laughed, the image of Sokka chasing after a jumping fish dispersing the tenseness of the situation.

"Just give me half an hour," Sokka chucked the fish onto a mat, "and they'll be ready."

Aang walked over to where Sokka was preparing the fish to be cooked, "Sokka?" he sighed, "can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Sokka began skewering the fish, "what's on your mind?

"Zuko," Aang glanced over to where the others were involved in a game – Katara forgetting her hatred in favour of thoroughly trouncing Zuko.

"You're worried about his amnesia," Sokka stated.

"I just can't help but think," Aang looked at Sokka, "that if he never remembers, well, haven't we messed up his life?"

"I think it was messed up to begin with," Sokka joked, then turned serious, "I don't know Aang, if what we did was right. Probably, it wasn't. But we did what we had to, and when the fate of the _world_ hangs in the balance...well, Zuko's memory suddenly doesn't seem so important."

"Yeah," Aang sighed, "it just feels _wrong_ though, like we've taken his life away or something."

"Trust me," Sokka placed a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder, "from what I've seen of his life, this one is actually an improvement. I mean, come on, he has _friends_ now. Sort of."

They both glanced over. The other three were laughing together, Katara and Toph over how abysmal Zuko was at the game they were playing, and Zuko just because _they_ were.

"I guess," Aang smiled at Sokka, "his family _is_ pretty crazy."

Sokka nodded, still serious, "In fact, I think if he'd been separated from that lot a bit sooner he might've turned out a completely different person – this one, in fact."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's...different now, you know? Nicer, friendlier, takes a _lot_ longer to start blowing things up – or at least, to try -, and I think a lot of what made Zuko who he was came from his home life. I mean it's hard to turn out a decent person when you're surrounded by psychopaths."

"True," Aang agreed.

"We just," Sokka began and then hesitated, "we just have to make sure that, if this is permanent, we don't abandon him."

"Because he's alone now." Aang stared off into the distance – Zuko was alone, in a sense, just like Aang had been, before he'd met Sokka and Katara.

"Right," Sokka nodded.

"That shouldn't be too hard," Aang smiled, "he's actually nice to have around."

"Yeah," Sokka was quiet for a moment, "when he's not, you know, trying to kill you."

Aang laughed, "In his defence, he only wanted to _capture_ me."

"Oh yeah," Sokka joked, "And hand you over to his evil, psychopathic, father in order to achieve total world domination."

"Well when you put it _that_ way." The two laughed for awhile as Sokka finished up skewering the fish.

"Will we tell him?" Aang asked after awhile, "after the war's over? Will we tell him what his life was _really _like?"

"Of course," Sokka began setting up the fire pit to roast the fish, "we have to."

"Then he'll _hate_ us." Aang glanced back over at the others; Zuko was now _winning_ much to Katara's disgust.

"Maybe," Sokka agreed, "or maybe he'll understand."

"You really think so?" Aang looked hopefully at Sokka; he hadn't really known Zuko that long but, he felt a kinship with him. He wished now, more than ever, that they'd known each other before the war.

"I don't know," Sokka said finally, setting the fish up over the fire, "it'll all depend on him."

...

A/N: Ok, I'm going to start setting up relationships soon so put in your final votes...


	4. Chapter 4

EDIT: Ok, due to the slightly overwhelming amount of people who said 'Nooooooo' in response to this chapter, I have decided to open one last poll. Now this one will be slightly different to the other. Your choices are: Zuko & Katara, 'Keep all relationships as they were in the show', or 'no relationships'. I never intended for the 'romance' to be the main point of the story anyway, so it wouldn't bother me if it didn't exist – I just thought it stronger ties to the group. So if you feel a romance that you don't approve of totally ruins the story for you (and I can see that some of you do) then you might choose no romance. And then, I'll go with that. I don't know if editing this chapter brings it to your attention again – possibly it doesn't – so I'll put this at the start of the next chapter and just build the relationships in a friendly way until a decision is come to.

A/N: I'm going to preface this by saying that none of you are allowed to abandon this story based upon how this poll turns out. Ok? Because that isn't really a good reason to abandon a story that you previously enjoyed reading. As long as the romance is well written (I'll try my best!) and is plausible, it shouldn't be too irritating. So please read on and, if you feel I've completely screwed it up and can't write for nuts, then you may feel free to tell me as much, and then promptly abandon it. I'll tell you, I originally went 'wha?' in response to this particular pairing, but I think I can see how it would work quite nicely.

So, the final poll stands as follows:

Zuko & Katara: 10

Zuko & Mai: 8

Zuko & Sokka: 8

Aang & Katara: 10

Sokka & Suki: 5

Aang & Toph: 3

Sokka & Toph: 1

No relationships: 1 (sorry Reader P, I think you've been outvoted...;)

Oh, I think this is obvious but just in case you were wondering; this story _is_ focused on Zuko, so votes surrounding him are given first precedence. Therefore the zuko pairing with the highest vote will occur, and then the other characters will follow from there. Although, I don't really want to pair everyone up...and even if there are other pairings in this, they won't receive a lot of spotlight...which should be ok for everyone since this is a Zuko story and that's the section you would have been looking in order to find it. Even though there will be a 'romance' so to speak (as I think it benefits the plotline) it won't be the main idea of the story, so don't worry those of you concerned about what the relationship ends up _as_. This is really about exploring his relationships with _all_ of the gang. Thus the whole 'Zuko' and 'Any character' thing.

According to the poll they are as follows:

Zuko & Katara (for all those of you who just groaned, mentally slapped me, or literally threw your computers in what you hoped was my general direction; I have, in fact, been provided with some very insightful information on why those two could work together. If you're interested and have an open mind please see the review by 'sokkantylee' for chapter 3. If you crossed your fingers and hoped for a Sokka/Zuko outcome, well maybe you could be satisfied with the close friendship I think is quite capable of forming...you could always imagine the rest yourself I guess. As for Zuko/Mai, well, you guys _do _get the TV show so...)

Sokka & Suki: I think this works well in the TV show so I'll just keep it in here. Although, Suki won't play an awfully large part in this story.

Toph/Aang: No relationship, I think. I just can't see Toph and Aang working to tell you all the truth. Plus, I only intended to focus on Zuko's relationship so...

Now it's not my intention to ruin this story for anyone, and I know that a romance you find to be bizarre, just plain impossible, or slightly stupid, occurring in a story can wreck it. I hope it won't affect anyone too much though Just so you all know: you _don't_ want to stop reading now...trust me.

Thus ends the longest authors note in existence...

...

Zuko was walking through an endless darkness. It seemed to stretch on for miles and miles and he had no idea how long – or how far – he had walked for. The inky blackness seemed infinite in all directions and, try as he might, he could make out none of his surroundings. He raised his hands and examined them; strange, he could see them perfectly. So there was light, then. He continued walking; surely there was an end? Suddenly the air seemed green with refracted light. The blackness seemed to shrink and recede as crystals burst from its dark maw. Zuko looked around in alarm; he was in a cave. He shuddered; he had never liked being underground, there was just something about a limited air supply that gave him the creeps.

He bent down to examine one of the crystals, curious as to how they reflected light when there seemed to be no source. A flash of blue gleamed through the crystal, eyes staring out at him. He spun around, but there was nothing. Just endless forests of crystals, as infinite as the blackness it was born from. A cry echoed around the cave.

"Zuko?" Someone was yelling, "I thought you were different!"

"I _am_ different," he said, without meaning to, into the echoing darkness.

He hurriedly began walking in the direction of the voice, determined to find its source. But the echoes bounced off every crystal until he was no longer at all sure as to where he had first heard it.

"Please Zuko," a rougher, male voice, echoed through the cave, "I beg of you, look into your heart. Do what is right."

"Who are you?" He called out, but no response came. Frustrated, he kicked the nearest crystal and then swore.

"What do you want from me?" He yelled, now frustrated _and_ in pain.

"You are many things, Zuko, but traitor isn't one of them." A voice sounded directly behind him. He spun around but no one was there. Suddenly the crystal in front of him cleared. Slowly, cautiously, he stepped down the path and came into another cavern. There was a large cluster of crystal in the centre of the cavern and it was glowing brightly. He stepped closer to it and reached out a hand to touch it. The crystal shattered and he leapt back as the glowing light seemed to pulsate. Through the blinding brightness he could just make out a small humanoid figure. The light subsided and withdrew, leaving Zuko staring straight into the face of Aang. Only he was different, somehow. His eyes and tattoo's were glowing eerily. Aang seemed to stare pleadingly at him and Zuko had just opened his mouth to ask what he wanted when he felt an incredible amount of energy fill the cavern. The air around him seemed to hum, and a static shock shivered through his body. In the blink of an eye, lighting had streaked past him. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Aang convulse and fall to the ground.

"No!" He ran towards the fallen boy, and suddenly he was floating in the blackness again. Only, he was awake; or at least he thought he was. His foot still flared with pain, which was odd, he supposed, since he'd 'hurt' it in his dream. Groaning, he started to get up in order to check it (and find a torch or something) but found that he couldn't. His head hit something hard and he winced, a metallic smell filling his nostrils. He stretched his arms out and began to panic as they hit solid rock. Total blackness. He sniffed the air; stale air. And rock on all sides...he was buried alive! Zuko blanched and began frantically battering the sides of his rock prison. How had this happened? His attempts were futile and served only to rub his fingers raw. Giving up on that front, he breathed deeply.

"It's only a dream," he muttered, "only a dream."

But it felt so _real_. He shuddered. He breathed deeply again, well if this was real then he had to conserve his air. He could feel the panic rising and fought to keep it down, if he lost control of his breathing he'd use up his air in no time – he had to stay calm. He felt that slight edge of hysteria colour his breathing, he couldn't stand this! He _hated_ the feeling of being trapped underground. He even hated closed in buildings. He had to have space and plenty, plenty, of air. But he was running short of both. He had only one option, it seemed. He had to try and call for help. Even though it would use up a lot of air – what else could he do?

"Help!" He yelled, already somewhat convinced that his efforts would be futile, "someone help!"

Minutes passed and he could hear nothing outside of his ragged breathing – he was losing air fast and already he felt light-headed and queasy.

"Please," he pushed futility at the roof, "help!"

Still nothing. Suddenly, something within him snapped, and he was pushing and shoving with all his might. He felt a searing hotness pass through him – a fire – that streamed down his limbs and exploded from his fingertips. The heat, trapped within the rock, was sweltering and Zuko began to see red. Closing his eyes and burying his face in his arms, he waited as the fire raged against the rock, heating it to a point where it plumed through the surface. Gasping – the fire had used up his remaining air – Zuko gulped in the fresh air that invaded his former prison. He collapsed onto his back and simply lay there for awhile, weak and tired in the wake of his burst of manic energy.

Behind him he heard voices and a cry of "zombie!" He vaguely recognised Sokka's voice as responsible for the latter comment.

"Hey, he _did_ rise from the earth all creepy like." He heard Sokka defending himself.

"Zuko?" someone asked worriedly.

Zuko just groaned, he was one big bundle of pain.

Someone knelt down beside him and he opened one eye – it was Katara.

"Zuko, are you ok?" she seemed to be saying. He felt a sudden coolness over his head and flinched slightly.

"Umm, ye..sur...ybe." he said vaguely, lungs still slightly raw from the dry heat of the fire. Katara moved her hands over his throat, and he felt the soothing coolness spread through his larynx.

"Thanks, Katara," he breathed once she was done, "what...happened?"

Katara glared, but Zuko realised it wasn't him she was glaring at –for once – when she spoke.

"Maybe," she started to heal his raw hands, "you should ask_ Toph_."

"Toph?" Zuko asked, confused.

"Ah ha ha," Toph laughed nervously, "er, you see, the thing is..." she scuffed the dirt with her foot, "I sort of might have, kind of, buried you." She finished so quickly Zuko could barely make out the words.

'Huh?" He started to sit up, but Katara pushed him back down, "stay," she ordered.

"She buried you alive," Sokka informed him, "and then you rose like a _zombie from the grave_." He stressed the last part.

"What?" Zuko sat up so quickly Katara didn't have time to force him back down, "down." She glared at him. He ignored her.

"Why would you _do_ that?" He asked, feeling somewhat betrayed.

"I, uh," Toph defended, "thought it might help you remember. And I, well I _did_ warn you that you wouldn't see it coming."

Zuko blinked, "you did it as a _training exercise_?" He growled.

Toph backed up at the steam forming around him; "It worked!" she tried.

"No," Zuko yelled, "I thought I was going to _die_." The only thing keeping him from leaping up and..._Strangling_ Toph, was Katara's firm grasp on his arm.

"I'm sorry," she cried, "I didn't know, I thought you'd just bend your way out."

"I _didn't know how to_!" Zuko yelled out of a rage born of pure fear.

"But you did," she tried.

Zuko abandoned his restraint and leapt up, only to have Sokka and Aang block his path.

"Enough," Sokka said, "she's sorry, calm down."

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed deeply, allowing the fear inside him to dissipate along with the rage and hurt anger.

"We already got mad at her for you," Aang added.

Zuko nodded and sat back down so that Katara could finish healing.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "it's just...I'm _terrified_ of being caught in an enclosed space like that. I need, I need _air_. I feel so...I can't even explain it."

"You're claustrophobic?" Sokka questioned.

"Yeah, I guess." Zuko looked down.

"That makes sense," Aang thought out loud, "I mean air _is_ an integral part of fire bending as well."

"Of course," Sokka nodded, "without air there is no fire."

"But then wouldn't all fire benders feel the same?" Zuko wondered.

"Maybe," Katara joined in, "but bending is stronger in some than others,"

Zuko looked over at Toph, standing to the edge of the group looking forlorn and thoroughly sorry for herself.

"Don't worry about it, Toph," he said softly, knowing she could hear him, "it did work, after all."

"Really?" She looked up, "you mean that?"

He nodded, then remembered she was blind, and verbally confirmed it, "yeah."

She smiled at him, "I promise I won't do that again."

"You had _better_ not," he shuddered.

"All right," Katara finished up, "you're all good as new – no scars from this..." she halted, "sorry." She muttered.

"I don't even..." He paused, then remembered, "oh," he ran his fingers over _the_ scar, "...yeah."

"...so," Sokka broke the awkward silence, "breakfast, anyone?"

...

Once they had finished the remainder of the previous night's fish, which served as breakfast, Katara called a meeting to decide what to do next.

"I vote we stay here," Toph suggested, "it's good for training."

"I don't know," Sokka said slowly, "it might be best to keep moving, less chance of being found that way."

"Maybe," Aang added, "but Combustion man hasn't found us yet, and I like it here."

"Doesn't mean he won't" Katara said bleakly, "he's found us everywhere so far."

"So two for going and two for staying?" Sokka smirked, "...and Zuko gets the deciding vote."

"Er, what?" Zuko shook his head, "can't you just...play shougi for it or something?" An image filled his mind – a man, grey-haired and pot-bellied, with kind, wise, eyes – and then dissipated. Zuko shook his head to clear it. Who was that?

"No, you have to vote." Sokka informed him smugly, "and you better vote right."

"Umm," he glanced around at everyone. Aang was looking pleadingly at him, Toph was very obviously trying to do nothing –probably still feeling guilty – Sokka was giving him a stern, calculating, gaze and Katara, well, her glare said 'just you _dare_ speak against me.' He decided that currying brownie points with Katara couldn't hurt in the near future – her being the resident healer and all – and Aang's pleading gaze had nothing on Sokka's steely one, so he hastily added his vote to the sibling's.

"Aw, Zuko," Aang groaned.

"Sorry," he shrugged.

"Alrighty," Sokka laid out a map of the fire nation, "the invasion's taking place here," he pointed at a place on the map, "and we're here," his finger moved over to a large forest, "so we should probably start inching over towards the invasion point."

"Is that what your _instincts_ tell you?" Katara joked.

"They do, in fact." Sokka turned his nose up as they all burst into laughter. Zuko was the only one left silent and wondering.

"Inside joke."

"I'd gathered," he muttered. At times he seemed to really fit in with the group, but those times were somewhat rare and often fleeting. Usually, he just felt incredibly out of place and awkward – like there was some massive secret they were keeping from him. It loomed over his head like a grotesque clown (cookies and a short story to anyone who gets that reference), invisible and intangible yet constantly _there_. He knew it had something to do with Katara; he could see it in her eyes every time she glared at him, a tiny ripple of hurt amongst a sea of anger. She seemed the most affected, the least able to forgive. He wondered fervently what he had done, but feared to ask.

He hadn't realised he'd tuned out to the conversation until Aang's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Zuko?" He was saying, "Are you ok?"

"Huh?" He looked up and found them all staring at him.

"You spaced out there for a sec, Jerky," Sokka informed him.

"Oh, sorry," he said absentmindedly.

"Yeah, ok." Sokka said slowly, sharing a suspicious look with the others.

"Really," Zuko misread the look, "I'm just...distracted."

"Are you still mad about the earth tomb thing?" Toph asked, "'cause I said I was sorry..."

"No," he said loudly, and then sighed, "I'm just, I...can I talk to you?" He said to Katara. He read the mistrust in her eyes, "please."

"Ok," she got up and walked off, leaving him to follow behind her. When they'd walked out of hearing distance she turned around.

"Yes?"

Zuko looked her straight in the eye, this time he was getting answers.

"Why do you hate me?" He said bluntly, he'd never been particularly subtle and he certainly wasn't in the mood for it after his early morning burial.

"I trusted you once," Katara said, "and you betrayed me."

"What?" Zuko blanched, "I _did_ cheat on you!"

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"Yesterday morning I asked Sokka why you seemed to hate me," Zuko buried his head in his hands, "and he said I'd cheated on you...I thought he was joking, but..."

"He was." Katara stifled a laugh at the look on Zuko's face, "as if I'd _ever_ date you."

"So why then?" Zuko asked, ignoring the insult, "what did I _do_?"

Katara hesitated, unsure of what to tell him. She didn't want to spark memories of his avatar-hunting life, but she didn't really want to fabricate something. She finally sighed, deciding to go with the generic 'you're fire nation so I hate you'.

"You're fire nation," she shrugged.

Zuko's eye twitched, "you're kidding, right? You're judging an entire _race_ of people on their _tyrant's_ actions."

"Hey," she poked him in the chest, "you're no saint, yourself. You weren't _just_ fire nation, you were part of the problem."

"...I was?"

Katara mentally kicked herself; she wasn't supposed to tell him that.

"Er, yeah," she hedged, "you were a...soldier."

"Sokka said I was a refugee in Ba Sing Se," Zuko pointed out.

"Well you turned good, but you _were_ bad." Katara crossed her arms, "and maybe the others can forgive you, but I know better."

Zuko frowned, "you said I betrayed you?"

"This isn't the first time you've 'turned good'." She told him, eyes hard, "and last time you were good for about five minutes. I believed you, a mistake I won't repeat."

"Oh," he said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," she looked away, "it means nothing."

"...right," of course, he didn't even remember what he'd done after all.

"So why do you hate the fire nation?" He asked, then quickly elaborated when she glared at him, "I mean, more so than the others."

"The fire nation killed my mother," she said softly, "and took my father away."

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I didn't know."

"Yeah I know," she smiled slightly and then frowned, remembering the first time she'd told him.

"But Sokka's your brother, right?" Zuko asked.

"He deals with it differently." Was all she had to say on the matter.

"Well," he attempted to lighten the situation, "I don't even know if I _have _a mother or anyone really."

She looked at him and realised, for the first time, how hard his life must be – and not just with the memory loss. As far as she knew he _didn't_ have a mother, his father had banished him when he was fourteen, his sister was an evil prodigy, and he'd spent the last three years scouring the world for Aang just so he could go home. Her father at least loved her, even if he'd left her to go to war. And her brother she loved and could depend on absolutely to have her back in anything. Zuko, she realised, had never had that support. If he hadn't had his uncle watching over him, he would truly have been alone in the world. Her heart went out to him, in that moment, staring dejectedly at the floor – desperately trying to remember what he'd done to merit her hate – and she relinquished it, hoping she'd made the right decision in trusting him again. It was hard to let go of it, but she decided she'd at least try, he was difficult to resist with that kicked-puppy look he had going on.

"Zuko," she sighed, "I don't _hate_ you, I just, you hurt me and that's difficult to get over."

"I don't expect you to," he said softly, "and I wish I remembered so that I could apologise properly."

How could one person be so very, very different? The Zuko she saw before her was almost nothing like the angry, determined, one that had chased them around the globe. It was difficult to believe that the two were one and the same person.

"I like you better this way," she told him.

"I was afraid of that," Zuko said quietly, he wasn't so sure he wanted to know the kind of person he'd been before the memory loss. It seemed he hadn't been particularly nice to be around.

"If you two are done sharing secret feelings over there," Sokka yelled, "we'd like to start moving."

"We're _coming_" Katara yelled back and then offered Zuko a tiny, tentative, smile before turning around and walking back to where the others were finishing packing up camp. Zuko stood there for a few minutes more. He watched her join the others and joke effortlessly with them. They were a real team – so different, but in such a way that they complimented each other perfectly. He wondered if he could ever truly be a part of it. His thoughts drifted back to the strange dream he'd had before he'd woken up buried, was it a memory? Could that, perhaps, be the betrayal Katara had alluded to? Had he struck Aang down? But...he'd been hit by lightning, not fire. And who were those voices? What did they mean? He'd have to ask Aang. If he truly had struck him down, then it was nothing short of a marvel that the boy had forgiven him and, seemingly, so easily. He resolved to ask Aang about it, he wasn't sure he wanted to, but he definitely needed to, know.

...

A/N: Hang tight for the next one, oh few who remain. (Although hopefully, you've all stuck around)

So remember, I promised cookies _and_ a short story to anyone who can guess the reference in this chapter. It's not avatar, by the way. The short story will be whatever you want (probably avatar related), characters your choice, plot your choice etc. But it is a slightly obscure reference so...one last hint – TV show. Maybe the closest guess will get it if I'm feeling nice (and appreciated)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ok, so a lot of you were horrified by the outcome of the poll and quite verbal about it ;) Because of this, and because I have an innate desire to please you all, I have decided to do something that I hope will please the majority of people. Each chapter from this point forward '9not including this one) will be split into two parts; part one will be Zutara, and part 2 will be the relationships from the show. But because, as I said earlier, this story is focused on Zuko, part 2 is sort of no relationships as well, as Katara and Aang won't get much spotlight at all. Not that the Zutara relationship will be more than just barely there as a plot device. So hopefully, you're either happy with Zutara, or just happy to pretty much have no relationships – and since you liked the show, you could probably put up with the ones they had anyway. The two parts are pretty much the same in the next chapter, but as the story progresses they'll diverge considerably – which means tons more work for me, so I hope you're all satisfied now. I'm actually interested to see how this story works with the two different parts, and how different they'll actually be...even I don't know!

So that's how it's going to work.

Alright, I'm pleased to announce that someone has guessed the reference I placed in the last chapter. It was, in fact, from NCIS and so 'sonya' you have won yourself a oneshot. You may choose absolutely anything you want – avatar related of course – pairings (if desired), story line, etc. So let me know

...

"We're _coming_" Katara yelled back and then offered Zuko a tiny, tentative, smile before turning around and walking back to where the others were finishing packing up camp. Zuko stood there for a few minutes more. He watched her join the others and joke effortlessly with them. They were a real team – so different, but in such a way that they complimented each other perfectly. He wondered if he could ever truly be a part of it. His thoughts drifted back to the strange dream he'd had before he'd woken up buried, was it a memory? Could that, perhaps, be the betrayal Katara had alluded to? Had he struck Aang down? But...he'd been hit by lightning, not fire. And who were those voices? What did they mean? He'd have to ask Aang. If he truly had struck him down, then it was nothing short of a marvel that the boy had forgiven him and, seemingly, so easily. He resolved to ask Aang about it, he wasn't sure he wanted to, but he definitely needed to, know.

...

Zuko headed over to where the others were finishing packing up camp.

"Avoiding work, Jerky?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," he said for perhaps the fifth time that morning, "I was just...thinking."

"You can think?" Sokka gasped in mock astonishment, "who knew?"

"Leave him alone, Sokka," Katara defended him, to Zuko's surprise.

Sokka just shrugged nonchalantly and looked up at the sun to gauge the time. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, he let out a loud cry of, "Hawkie!"

They all looked up; Aang in amusement, Katara in exasperation, Zuko in confusion, and Toph because that's what everyone else was doing.

"And Mo-mo's back, too!" Aang noticed, laughing happily as the little lemur flew circles around his head and then settled on his shoulder. Appa snorted derisively.

"Hawkie," Sokka stroked the hawk's back fondly, "what have you got for me?" He opened the tube and pulled out an expensive looking scroll. He peered at the elegant writing, trying to decipher its meaning.

"It's for you, Toph." He announced, and then handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, "I'll just go read it, then."

"Oh right,"" he said sheepishly, "let me read it out."

"Actually, don't," she grabbed it back, "Katara?"

Katara nodded, understanding, and the two went off a little ways to read it.

"Great," Sokka put his hands on his hips, "Katara gets _another_ little 'secret feelings' meeting, and we get stuck with the work."

"But there's hardly anything left," Zuko pointed out.

"That's not the point," Sokka stroked Hawkie again.

"...right," Zuko said, and then "Aang can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," Aang finished tying the saddle to Appa, "oh, in private?"

Zuko just nodded.

"Oh wonderful," Sokka threw his hands up, upsetting Hawkie, "everyone _else_ gets a secret feelings meeting."

"Why don't you...talk to the hawk?" Zuko suggested, following Aang.

Sokka shrugged "I like you," he told it.

"Squaaak," was Hawkie's reply.

"Aww Hawkie!" He hugged it.

...

"So what's this about?" Aang played idly with Mo-mo.

"I had this...dream last night," Zuko began, "but I think it might've been a memory."

Aang's eyes widened slightly, "what about?" he said quickly.

"Well I was in a cave covered in these green crystals," Zuko scratched his head, trying to remember the details, "and I heard these voices, and then I saw you and you were glowing."

"Ok," Aang relaxed slightly.

"And just as I was going to talk to you, or something, you got struck by lightning." Zuko looked away, "and I have to know, because everyone's alluding to me betraying you guys or something, did I do that?"

"No." Aang told him, "but you _were _there."

Zuko sighed in relief, then asked curiously "who did then?"

"Oh ummm," Aang hedged, "just an evil fire nation princess."

"Oh," Zuko said, "if it had been me, I..."

"It wasn't," Aang reassured him, eager to end the conversation lest he slip up, "it looks like the others are back; we should go."

Zuko was left wondering exactly what Aang was hiding from him. If he hadn't struck Aang down, then what _had_ he done?

...

"What about here?" Aang yelled; voice faint as it drifted back to the others.

"Isn't it a little close to the village?" Katara called back.

"Is it?" Aang replied.

"Yeah, keep going." Sokka instructed him, "better get that cloud cover going," he said to Katara.

"Right," she began to bend the water in the clouds, shaping them around Appa until he was completely ensconced in cloud.

Zuko shivered, the air had suddenly turned almost icy and he was wearing only the pants and top he usually wore under his robes. "Stupid fire," he muttered, if only it hadn't burnt them up...

"You cold over there, Hotman?" Toph glanced at Zuko, huddled in the corner of the saddle.

"Not at all," he said through chattering teeth.

"Well there's either a herd of Komodo-rhino's stomping around up here, or your teeth are chattering."

"Rhinos," Sokka answered for him, "they hitchhiked at lunch."

"I'm fine," he bit out, trying to look like he wasn't cold at all. He then remembered that Toph was blind and wouldn't even notice.

"Oh grab a blanket or _something_," Katara said irritably, "even _I _can hear them chattering."

"I'm-"

"If you say fine, I'll punch you." Toph growled, "guys and their _pride_."

Zuko was about to reply when Aang interrupted him, "how about here?" He called.

"Looks good," Sokka yelled his approval.

As Appa began his descent, Zuko had a look at where they were landing. It was nice enough, he supposed, if not quite as breathtaking as the forest they'd just left. The trees – the few that were there - were a rather ordinary shade of green at best, and a tiny excuse for a stream trickled haphazardly amongst them. Appa landed smoothly and they all hurried to unpack while Mo-mo and Hawkie chased each other around the bison.

"Hey Jerky," Sokka asked once they'd finished unpacking, "wanna spar?"

"Spar?" Zuko asked, confused, "but you don't-"

"With swords," Sokka interrupted, slightly irritated.

"But I don't-"

"Yes, you do," Sokka grabbed his arm, "come on, I _need _to whack something."

Zuko paled slightly, "great."

Sokka rummaged around in his bag, "here" he pulled out an old, somewhat rusty, blade, "you can use this."

"Thanks," Zuko accepted it, wondering how he was supposed to do this when he didn't remember how. Sokka unsheathed his black 'space sword' and assumed the _en garde_ position, blade pointing threateningly at Zuko's heart. Zuko sighed and copied him, resigning himself to being thoroughly trounced.

"Katara, will you call it?" Sokka asked her, eyes fixed on Zuko's chest – watching the muscles for the slightest indication of movement. Zuko felt himself slightly unnerved.

"Ready?" Katara yelled, "go!"

Immediately, Sokka leapt into a brutal offense his sword never faltering from its course. Zuko stood fast, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Clearly, he had to avoid being stabbed while trying to stab Sokka himself, at least figuratively anyway, but beyond that... Sokka swung his sword in from the side and Zuko narrowly avoided being hit by leaping into a forward roll, and rolling back onto his feet behind Sokka. Sokka spun around, "use the _sword_." He attacked again, this time coming down from above. Zuko swung the sword – strangely, it felt light and nimble in his hands – and parried, catching Sokka's blade on his own. Sokka hastily swung his around and under, going for a direct 'stab' and Zuko backed up, bringing his blade down to push Sokka's off to the side. Sokka retaliated at once, twisting his blade around Zuko's and knocking it from his hands. Zuko felt the cold steel touch his chest.

"I win," Sokka crowed unnecessarily.

"Again," Zuko picked his sword up and assumed the _en garde_ position.

Sokka smirked, "you won't beat me." He leapt forward without warning, aiming for a direct hit. Zuko parried, then swept his sword under and up only to be blocked as Sokka quickly brought his sword to his chest and parried. The clang of steel on steel echoed in Zuko's ears as the two pushed on the balanced swords. A battle of strength ensued, with both exerting as much pressure as they could to force the other to the ground. Zuko gritted his teeth and ignored the sweat threatening to obscure his vision. Both were breathing heavily but neither was budging.

"Give up?" Sokka gasped, hands slipping slightly from the sweat.

"Never," Zuko's foot slid back an inch then held. His muscles were burning, his arms screaming to be released from the lock, but he ignored them. Suddenly, Sokka had swept his sword out of the way and darted to the side. Zuko was left exerting immense pressure on thin air. Shocked, he windmilled trying desperately to prevent himself from toppling to the ground, but failed, crashing unceremoniously at Sokka's feet. There was a sharp prick at his neck as Sokka rested his sword there.

"Admit it, I rule," he said, breathing heavily.

"Only because I don't remember," Zuko mumbled into the ground.

"What was that?" Sokka asked rhetorically, "you think I'm amazing and you want to kiss my feet?" He made a show of thinking about it, "well since you're already down there I guess, go for it."

The others laughed as Sokka removed his sword and offered Zuko a hand up.

"Again," Zuko said, his voice muffled by the ground.

"Huh?" Sokka leaned closer.

"Again," Zuko leapt up, sword at the ready and went on the offensive. Sokka grinned and brought his sword up to parry Zuko's first blow. Without even stopping to think, Zuko swung his blade back around and came in from the opposite side. Sokka just barely parried it, eyes widening at the sudden ferocity. Zuko's blade kept moving continuously, seeking an opening in Sokka's defence. He parried a stab from Sokka and immediately retaliated with an upwards swing only to halt millimetres before impact and change direction. Sokka had to leap back to avoid being hit by the second strike. He raised his sword again with newfound respect for the sheer speed of his opponent. Zuko halted his offensive and watched Sokka carefully. He knew that if he let his guard down for just a second, Sokka would pull some crazy trick on him like before, the boy was nothing if not abstractly inventive. Sokka seemed content to do the same, and again the two were caught in a stalemate.

They circled each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Neither was particularly patient, though, and the stalemate lasted only a minute before they both moved at once. Sokka attacked first, forcing Zuko into defence. Zuko parried effortlessly – his memory might be fuzzy, but his muscles remembered perfectly – and retaliated only to find Sokka had dropped to the ground and attacked from down below. With lightning speed, Zuko swung his sword down and blocked Sokka's sneaky attack, marvelling at the other boy's ingenuity. Sokka was back on his feet almost instantly and on the offense again, his sword swinging in from the left. Zuko parried and feinted to the right before hurriedly executing a quick swap, ending with his sword firm against Sokka's chest. Sokka looked down at the sword and sighed, "aw, man," he sheathed his space sword.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Zuko breathed, still heaving from the physical exertion.

"A master – fire nation, actually," Sokka replied, "you?"

"No idea."

"Naturally." Sokka accepted the old sword from Zuko and put it away.

"So..." Zuko attempted to joke, "you going to kiss my feet now?"

Sokka gave him a weird look, "I don't think so."

Zuko was about to reply when Aang ran up, beaming from ear to ear.

"That was amazing," he praised them, "can I learn stuff like _that_?"

"I don't think swords will help much against the fire lord," Toph commented, flicking a pebble at Mo-mo. The lemur leapt after it, snatched it from the air, and gnawed it, dropping it in disgust when he found out it was inedible.

"Excuse me?" Sokka said, insulted.

"It's just," Toph said bluntly, "swords aren't that useful against bending."

"I'm sure they're-"Aang began, ever the peacemaker.

"Is that right?" Sokka challenged, interrupting him, "let's find out."

Aang wisely stepped away, dragging Zuko along with him.

"Yeah, it is." Toph flexed her toes and continued to lounge at the base of her tree.

"Well?"

"Go for it." Toph yawned, drawing one knee up to her chest, foot flat on the ground.

Sokka drew his sword, "are you going to get up?" He raised an eyebrow.

"...no," Toph blew stray hair off her face.

Sokka's face reddened, "fine." He growled and rushed at her, sword at the ready. When he was less than three feet away, she made a slight stomping motion with her foot and a rock sprung up from the ground. Sokka tripped over it, having no time to avoid doing so, and flailed before falling forward and landing at her feet in an undignified heap.

"See," she shrugged, "swords just don't cut it."

Sokka got to his feet, sheathed his sword, and stormed off, muttering under his breath as he did so.

"Maybe someone should go talk to him," Aang suggested.

"I will," Zuko volunteered, "I think I know how he's feeling."

Aang gave Zuko a curious look but said nothing, choosing instead to go over and help Katara with dinner.

When Zuko found Sokka he was seated cross-legged at the edge of the small river, moodily chucking pebbles into it. He sat down beside him and for awhile the two said nothing.

"I always used to wish I could bend," Sokka said quietly, "back home, when Katara used to play with it like it was just so _natural_ for her, I'd always pretend it was stupid or something." He chucked another pebble, "but I always wished I could."

Zuko said nothing, feeling that Sokka just needed to talk it out.

"Everyone said she was special, you know? The last waterbender in the Southern tribe and all, and I was...Sokka, the normal guy. And when Mum died and Dad went to war, I felt like it was _my_ duty to protect her, you know? But she was always the stronger one." He skimmed a pebble that bounced three times before sinking beneath the rippling water.

"I don't think that's true," Zuko watched as another pebble sailed across the surface.

"Easy for you to say," Sokka said self-depreciatingly.

"Maybe," Zuko agreed.

"I just," Sokka chucked another pebble, "I can't make water move, or create giant waves, or anything like that. I just, whack things with a sword and chuck a boomerang."

"And make plans," Zuko reminded him.

"Someone has to," Sokka looked out over the river, "not that they work, though."

Zuko shook his head, slightly amused, "you're an idiot."

"So I've been told."

"I know what you mean, though," Zuko told him, "I feel that way too – useless."

Sokka glanced at him incredulously, "you're a fire bender _and_ a swordsman."

"But none of it matters," he replied, "I don't remember how to fire bend so I can't teach Aang, I'm useless."

"But you still _can_."

"Not really." Zuko traced a pattern in the water with the tips of his fingers, "and you aren't useless." He added.

"Oh?" Sokka didn't sound for a moment like he believed him.

"You hold the group together," Zuko told him, "in a strange, abstract, way. But you do."

"Katara does that," Sokka argued, "with her...mothering."

"No," Zuko shook his head, "she keeps you on the right track maybe, but you unify them. You always seem to know when to joke and when to be serious, how to handle every situation – like you said, you're the plan guy. Maybe you don't see it because it's not as...flashy as bending, but it's there."

Sokka smiled slightly, "I _am _planning an invasion of the fire nation," he boasted, he was, after all, fairly proud of his ingenious plan.

"You're also the leader," Zuko observed, "they all look to you to make decisions."

"Nah," Sokka waved it off, "they argue with _everything_ I say."

Zuko just shrugged, "if you say so."

They sat in silence for awhile, listening to the distant sounds of laughter drifting from the camp.

"You know Zuko," Sokka said, using his name for the first time, "you're not such a bad guy."

Zuko grinned, "wish I could say the same but..."

"Hey," Sokka joked, "_I'm _the funny one around here."

Whatever Zuko was about to say next was interrupted as a loud, panicked, cry emerged from the camp.

...

A/N: And this is where I'll leave you...


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Ok guys, there's only one part to this chapter because Katara and Aang aren't even in it so...no relationship development.

...

"Hey," Sokka joked, "_I'm _the funny one around here."

Whatever Zuko was about to say next was interrupted as a loud, panicked, cry emerged from the camp.

...

Zuko and Sokka leapt to their feet Sokka yelling a worried, "Katara?" They both rushed off to the campsite as fast as they could, but the journey took them a few minutes and by the time they reached it, the others were gone.

"Katara?" Sokka called, frantically searching the area, "Aang? Toph?"

"There's no one here," Zuko pointed out the obvious.

Sokka ignored him, continuing to examine the campsite for clues.

"Hey there's that...lemur thing,"

"Mo-mo?" Sokka said urgently as the little lemur landed on his shoulder, "what happened?"

The lemur emitted a strange series of frantic sounds, tugging Sokka's ponytail and trying to drag him north. "As far as I can tell," Sokka mused, "there's been some kind of struggle..." he surveyed the scene thoughtfully, "I think they got Katara first, and then Aang and Toph surrendered. They must have surprised her."

"You got all that from a _lemur?" _Zuko asked sceptically.

"What?" Sokka gave Zuko a weird look, "no, from the tracks."

"The tracks?" Zuko looked around, "all I see is dirt."

Sokka shook his head, "That's because you don't look closely enough," he informed him, "see here? There's multiple foot prints – bigger feet than ours, adults most likely and wearing steel boots from the pattern – there's an indent along here," he traced it with his fingers, "someone fell over, Katara probably fought back, but then the scuffle stops," he looked around, "there are no other signs of a fight, so I can surmise that one of them grabbed her and Aang and Toph were forced to surrender."

"That's...incredible," Zuko breathed, and then tried his best to look as though he hadn't been impressed, "so now what?"

"We go after them," Sokka looked in the direction Mo-mo had tugged his ponytail, "and fast, we can't risk them recognising Aang." He walked over to the bags and retrieved the rusty sword, "I don't know how the fire bending's going, but you might need this."

"Thanks," Zuko accepted the sword, "did they take the bison with them?"

Sokka looked around, "I can't see any of his tracks...maybe Aang told him to flee? He'd be a dead giveaway..."

"He's a _bison_, not a person."

"He's smart," Sokka shrugged, "and there are no tracks."

"But you said they were surprised," Zuko argued.

"Well better he escape anyway," Sokka reasoned, "even if they _had_ seen him."

"Whatever," Zuko kicked the ground, "how'd they get away so fast, anyway?"

"You're right," Sokka mused, "it only took us a few minutes to get here..." He looked around, peering into bushes and inspecting the dirt thoughtfully. "Aha!" He yelled triumphantly, "hot air balloons – see this?" He held up a handful of dirt for Zuko to inspect.

"...it's dirt." Zuko raised an eyebrow, "there's tons of it."

"Wrong," Sokka grinned smugly, "it's _just_ dirt."

"Imagine that."

"It means they didn't use any kind of machinery," Sokka informed him, "that would've left coal remnants in the dirt."

"Great," Zuko said sarcastically, "so we know what they _didn't_ use."

"And the footprints end here," he pointed to a spot at the edge of the camp, "so they had to have flown. Ergo, hot air balloons."

"...I guess that makes sense," Zuko conceded, "so now what? We'll never catch them on foot."

"My guess is they're headed to the nearest town," Sokka mused, "if they haven't realised who Aang is."

"And where exactly, is that?"

"Your sarcasm, Jerky, is not appreciated," Sokka told him.

"Sorry," Zuko muttered, "where do you think it is?"

"Well Mo-mo seems to think it's north..." Sokka mused, "so we'll go with that."

"...great, we're taking directions from a _lemur_."

Suddenly they heard a loud roar behind them, and Appa crashed through the trees.

"APPA!" Sokka yelled.

The bison moved over to them and licked Sokka from head to toe.

"Thanks buddy," Sokka patted him on the nose, "glad to see you escaped."

"Un_believable_," Zuko muttered and then flinched as Appa did the same to him.

"Strange..." Sokka mused quietly, Appa seemed to _like_ Zuko, which was weird considering he'd chased them around the globe...but then, Appa _was_ one smart bison.

"Let's go," Sokka scrambled up onto Appa's back, "this'll be fun," he shouted, "no saddle."

"...great," Zuko followed suit, grabbed a handful of Appa's fur and hung on for dear life.

"You know," Sokka said from his seat near Appa's head, "I'm starting to think that's your favourite word." He turned back to Appa, "let's go find the others, yip yip."

Appa leapt into the air and flew upwards, Mo-mo spiralling up with him. Zuko's legs, to his discomfort, lifted completely off Appa's back due to the steepness of the climb. They flew in silence, Sokka, having spotted the distant forms of the balloons, had directed Appa towards them and was now constructing a rescue plan. He wasn't sure whether to wait until the balloons had landed, or attack while they were still in the air. Presumably, security was pretty tight _on_ the balloon, and all three benders had to be incapacitated in some way. Toph would've been easy – no earth in the balloons...but was there metal? Probably there wasn't, but Toph would be blind in any case. They would have taken Katara's water flask away, there was no full moon so no blood bending...she could maybe draw water from the clouds or something, but there had to be some reason why she hadn't yet tried. Aang would be fine, air was everywhere after all, but again, there had to be some reason why they hadn't tried escaping. Clearly, one of them was being threatened in some way.

So it might be best to wait until the balloon had landed. Except that reinforcements could have been called for if Aang had been recognised, or they might not land until they'd reached the palace. Aang had grown his hair though, his arrow was pretty well covered, and everyone thought he was dead...if he hadn't done any air bending ...and perhaps – Sokka realised – that was why he _hadn't_. Still, there was a reason the soldiers (he presumed that was who they were) had captured them, and if it wasn't because Aang was the avatar then what was it? They were dressed like fire nation, so unless the fire nation had some law about camping in the woods...he wouldn't put it past them, actually. So attack in the air, or on the ground? He did have both his and Zuko's sword skills, and possibly Zuko's fire bending ones as well, but he couldn't count on the latter. He possibly had Katara, and most likely had Aang. They were up against an unknown number of soldiers with unknown skills though, and for all he knew Aang and Katara were unconscious...

It was best to let them land – if they intended to – in a town, and infiltrate from there, Sokka decided. Potentially more guards, but they could do some reconnaissance before attacking which was impossible with the balloons. It was much better to eliminate some of the unknowns in the situation. Besides, once Toph was in a jail cell they could rely on her metal bending, unless they were prepared for her that is, and had wooden cells. But if that was the case, they'd know who Aang was and, like as not, they'd go straight to the palace. So, if they landed in a town he'd go in, gather information, then attack at night. If they kept going, he'd have to attack in midair.

Within half an hour the balloons had arrived at a town and, with baited breath, Sokka waited to see if they'd land. He sighed in relief as they drifted down, "looks like they're landing," he called back to Zuko.

"Great," Zuko yelled, "got a plan?"

"Yeah," Sokka directed Appa to land a few kilometres away from the town, "tell you when we land."

Zuko groaned as Appa began a steep descent, his legs flying up, and held on tighter, knuckles white from the force of his grip. The forests surrounding the town were thick and bushy, perfect for hiding a ten ton flying bison. As Appa deftly manoeuvred his way through the dense canopy, Sokka ran through his plan. Basically, they were going to waltz in like they belonged there, gather some intel, find somewhere to hang out until night, then infiltrate the prison and rescue the others. There were a few sketchy details and a heck of a lot of uncertainty, but it was the best he could manage in the current circumstances. When Appa had landed, the two dismounted and Sokka outlined his plan.

"You said I'm fire nation, right?" Zuko pointed out, "what if they recognise me?"

"You could be right," Sokka mused while thinking 'crap, he's the _fire prince_; of _course_ they'll recognise him'...it had been too easy, _far_ too easy in Sokka's opinion, to forget that Zuko was who he was.

"...so I should probably wear a disguise or something," Zuko started rummaging through the bag Sokka had brought with him. He pulled out a somewhat largish box and turned it over in his hands.

"What's in this?" He asked Sokka, jingling it and feeling its contents rattle.

Sokka looked over, "oh it's just Katara's make-up bo..." he trailed off as his eyes lit up, "you're a genius!"

"I am?" Zuko looked down at the box somewhat nervously now that he knew what it contained, "...why?"

Sokka came over and grabbed the box from Zuko's hands, there was an evil glint in his eye that didn't bode well for the unfortunate fire bender. He opened the box and drew out a small brush and a few tubes of an unnameable substance. He opened one and dabbed the brush on top of it.

"What's that?" Zuko asked, curious despite himself.

"Er...not entirely sure," Sokka replied, grabbing Zuko's chin unexpectedly and bringing the brush close to his scarred eye, "but Katara uses it to cover up stuff."

"Stuff?" Zuko asked, slightly alarmed, fighting the urge to flinch away.

"Yeah, spots and...and stuff." Sokka applied the paste to Zuko's face and brushed it around. It was a strange feeling, made even stranger by the nature of the skin Sokka was applying it too. He had a sort of distant type of feeling on that side of his face, like the nerves in the skin cells were only just working.

"The scar's your most obvious give-away," Sokka continued brushing the paste around, "so if we get rid of it then no one will know who you are."

"What if I got it _after_ I left the fire nation?"

"You had it when you first met us," Sokka said carefully, "and you hadn't _left_ the fire nation at that point."

"...I see," Zuko said.

"...and done," Sokka applied the finishing touches and stepped back to observe his work. Zuko looked...pretty normal. The make-up did an incredible job of covering the scar, except that he looked like he had an eye problem. Although, his skin was several shades lighter than Katara's so the left side of his face was darker than the right...still, anyone who knew Zuko would be looking for a scar, not a pigment abnormality.

"How does it look?" Zuko resisted the urge to touch the make-up.

"Good," Sokka smirked, "maybe you should've been a girl."

"What?" Zuko spluttered.

"Heh," he grinned, "let's go."

...

When they reached the fire nation town it was late afternoon, the sun had just begun to set and they only had a few hours before night arrived.

"We'll have to work fast," Sokka whispered to Zuko. They were hiding in the trees, observing the comings and goings of the town, while Sokka concocted a plan to get them through the gates.

"Looks like security's not that tight," he observed, "they'll let pretty much anyone in it seems."

"Lucky for us," Zuko flicked a spider-fly off his leg.

"Now we need to find the prison," Sokka mused, "and ideally find a way inside."

"We could get arrested," Zuko joked.

"That's not a bad idea," Sokka gave it some thought.

"I was joking," Zuko said, alarmed.

"What if _you_ chase accuse me of being a thief or something, and I get arrested, then I can see the inside of the prison and you can break me out later..."

"Or we could both stay _out_ of prison, and both break the others out later."

"We'd be going in blind." Sokka pointed out.

"I'd _still_ be going in blind" Zuko argued, "since you'd be in _prison_."

"Yeah well...ok," Sokka almost fell out of the tree in his excitement, "how about I attack the guards, then you save them, then I get arrested while you tell them you're interested in finding some security work, then we'll _both_ be in the prison – only you'll be a guard! It's perfect."

"I still don't see why you need to go to prison."

"So you can earn their trust," Sokka clapped him on the shoulder, "we're doing it."

"I don't..." Zuko protested.

"Be gentle now," Sokka interrupted him, and then promptly leap out of the tree yelling "surprise attack!"

Zuko sighed, and leapt after him, landing neatly and drawing his sword. Being a faster runner, he was able to catch up with Sokka easily. Once he was within tackling distance, he leapt forward and wrapped his arms around Sokka's torso, using his weight to bring the other boy to the ground. He then deprived him of his sword, and placed his own at his neck. The guards hurried over, "er thanks," one of them said, "we'll take it from here though."

Zuko backed up and sheathed his sword, hoping Sokka's plan was going to work out.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" One of them asked him curiously.

"Following that idiot," Zuko lied, "I thought he was up to something."

"Uh huh," another look him over, "what are you, sixteen?"

"So?" Zuko eyed him.

The guard shrugged, "you seem a little young to be in this business."

"You do what you have to, to survive." Zuko watched as they dragged Sokka through the gates.

The guard who Sokka had attacked came back, "you looking for work?" He asked, "'cause we just lost a man the other day."

Zuko blinked, Sokka's plan was _working_? "Uh, yeah, yeah," he said quickly.

"Come with me then," the guard motioned for him to follow and walked back towards the gates.

"So how'd you lose him?" Zuko asked as they made their way to the prison.

"He vanished," the man shuddered, "just disappeared one night, real spooky like."

"Oh."

They reached the prison and the guard ushered him inside. "Let's find you a uniform," he told Zuko cheerfully. He rummaged through a pile of clothes and pulled out something that looked a few sizes too big. "We've never had someone your age," the guard said apologetically, "so they might be a little loose."

"Thanks," Zuko accepted the garments, "should I...?"

"Yeah," the guard pointed to a small room, "you can change in there."

Zuko nodded and headed to the room, still slightly shocked that the plan had actually worked. Once he'd changed into the uniform – which was severely uncomfortably loose – he headed out to find the guard.

"Looking good," the guard chuckled, "should last you a few years. Let's go meet some of the guys." He led Zuko into what looked like a mess room. There were a few guards standing around chatting, some joking and laughing over a meal, and a couple playing some kind of board game he didn't recognise.

"Fellas," the guard addressed the room, "this is the newest recruit...hey kid," he whispered, "what's your name?"

"Er, Sokka.' Zuko lied, unsure if his name would be recognised.

"...Sokka," the guard finished.

The men looked up and a few of them sniggered, "we hiring kids now?" A burly looking man got up and walked towards them, eyeing Zuko.

"He's sixteen," the guard said, "saved my life, too."

"Oh?" the man slung an arm around Zuko's shoulders, "then welcome," he dragged him over to the table, "you from around here?"

"I've been...travelling," Zuko replied, sitting down where he was directed.

"Is that so?" The guard took a long drink from his glass, "why's that?"

"Finding work in different places," he said.

"Hmmm," the guard set his glass down, "well Sokka, I'm Azor, this here's Harsa, and that guy, drinkin' like a camel-fox, is Huang."

Harsa lifted his glass up in greeting, "so you saved the captain's life?"

"I guess so," Zuko replied, "so, what happens," he asked carefully, "to the people we arrest?"

"Oh we execute them," Azor said lazily, "real quick, saves us further trouble."

"What?" Zuko's eyes widened.

"Ah hah hah," the two laughed, "you should've seen your face."

"What do you think we do with them?" Huang spoke up, "we stick 'em in prison."

Zuko had to stop himself from sighing in relief and mentally commanded his heart to stop pounding so loudly.

"Why does it matter?" Harsa asked curiously.

"Just curious," Zuko shrugged, "different towns deal differently with their criminals."

The others seemed to accept this answer and went on with a conversation they'd presumably been having before he'd been introduced to them. Zuko took some time to breathe deeply and steady himself. He needed to pull this off so he could break Sokka out, and then break the others out. First though, he had to find out where they were being kept.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, had some stuff to do, wrote a one-shot as a prize for 'sonya' who guessed the reference in one of the chapters – it's called 'the fire lord and the teapot' for no particular reason, check it out if you're interested in how Zuko and Iroh became as close as they are. On another note, is anyone still actually interested in reading the aang/katara stuff? I feel like maybe I lost you guys already, and if that's the case then there's no real point in the whole split chapters thing...anyhow, I've decided I enjoyed writing that one-shot, and might hold another reference 'comp' in the future if one manages to creep in. It's cool to be given an idea and some parameters and then just...go wild.

...

Zuko took some time to breathe deeply and steady himself. He needed to pull this off so he could break Sokka out, and then break the others out. First though, he had to find out where they were being kept.

...

"So..." he said vaguely, "where exactly do we put the prisoners?" Nothing like a straightforward approach, he supposed.

Azor gave him a long look, "...prison." he said slowly, as if he suspected Zuko was one branch short of a tree.

"I mean," Zuko clarified, "where is that, exactly?"

"It's out back," Harsa told him curiously, "why?"

Zuko shrugged his shoulders and tried his best to be nonchalant, "just in case I, you know, arrest someone or something."

"Someone's eager," Huang regarded him with intelligent brown eyes, and Zuko swallowed nervously.

"Just want to do a good job," he said a few decibels higher than necessary.

"Hah," Azor chuckled, "nothing like a new guy's excitement, eh Harsa?"

"Hmm," the other guard grinned wickedly, "all fresh and innocent and _untried_."

"Un-untried?" Zuko rubbed his neck, slightly worried.

Azor clapped him on the shoulder, "there's a little ritual we put all new recruits through," he informed him, "it's where you prove your worth," he grinned, "but I guess you've proven yours already, huh?"

"...yes?" Zuko answered hopefully.

"It's tradition," Huang pointed out, eyes fixed on Zuko's face, "the same for everyone."

"Heh, why not?" Azor chuckled, "it's always amusing." He grabbed Zuko's arm and pulled him out of his chair, announcing to the room as he did so, "new guy trial time!"

A few men cheered and clinked their beer glasses, rising from their seats in an awkward, uncoordinated, way. The guard Zuko had 'saved' dropped his head into his hands briefly and then shot Zuko an apologetic look. Zuko was slightly apprehensive about this 'trial' and hoped it wouldn't take too long; he still needed to canvas the prison. As luck would have it, his trial ended up taking place _in _the prison, only a little more intimately than he would have liked. Azor, Harsa and the silent Huang, led Zuko through the prison, a convoy of slightly tipsy guards stumbling after them. Zuko tensed as Azor drew up to an empty prison cell and opened the door.

"In you go," he motioned for Zuko to enter.

"...seriously?" He inwardly panicked.

"It's tradition," Harsa chuckled at the expression on his face, "every new recruit has to break out of prison to prove their worth."

"You've _got_ to be joking," Zuko said emphatically, "that has to be the _worst_ trial ever."

"Don't feel up to it?" Azor teased.

"You put people in here for a reason," he argued, "to _detain_ them. If anyone could just...just break out-"

"No one can just 'break out'," Huang said slowly, "so get in."

"This is _pointless_," Zuko muttered as he walked in, he had no choice but to go along, he couldn't risk being put in prison for real.

"The point," Azor told him, "is for you to _try_ and us to laugh about it."

"How long do I have to stay in here?" He demanded.

"Until you break out," Harsa laughed, "which could be never."

"Great." He kicked the bars experimentally, and winced.

The drunk guards started heading out, Harsa, Azor joking along with them. Huang shot Zuko a long, measured, look before he headed out and his eyes seemed to burn through Zuko's disguises. Zuko sighed, he needed to get out of here fast. He still had no idea where the others were being held, and even less idea of how he was going to break himself out. He'd most likely be in here until the guards took pity on him and let him out, but who knew when that would be. He had to escape...but how on earth was he going to do that? The guards had left him his sword; he supposed that could maybe come in handy. But it was old and rusty, and probably on the verge of snapping in half. He could firebend – sort of – but what use was that in a metal cell? What effect did fire have on metal? He supposed it would heat up, but would that make a difference to its strength?

"Guess it's worth a try," he muttered, not really expecting anything in particular to happen. He pointed at the bars and silently commanded them to start burning. Needless to say, nothing really happened.

"Burn!" He demanded, figuring that maybe it needed a verbal command to work. The bars remained infuriatingly un-burnt.

He threw his hands up, "why won't you _work_?" he yelled at no-one in particular, grabbing the bars and shaking them in his frustration. His palms felt suddenly warm as an intense heat flooded through them and engulfed the bars.

"Gah," he yelled and leapt back, rubbing his palms against his shirt. The bars were glowing red-hot and he could feel the heat they now radiated curling around his body, caressing it like a dog would its master. Mesmerised, he reached out to touch them and then halted. If his scar was any indication, he wasn't exactly immune to flames so perhaps he shouldn't...he did anyway and felt the heat – intense and burning – seep through his fingers and pulse up his arm, merging with his veins and returning to the fire that flickered within them. The bars glowed one last time and then cooled, becoming grey and lifeless, as the heat died away. Zuko examined his hand, it was clear and pale and totally unharmed. He closed his eyes and imagined the fire he could feel flickering within him – it was little more than a flame, now, in the aftermath of his anger. It seemed it was fuelled by rage and anger, and that only when he felt those intense emotions did the fire take hold, and the burning begin. But he felt it there, perpetually burning, and wondered...

He focused on that tiny flame, felt it flicker and pulse in time with his heartbeat, and nudged it gently with his mind. It grew slightly, still pulsing, and as he nudged it and willed it to grow, he saw it take hold of him, streaming through his body. His blood sung as the fire swept through it, burning and invigorating, a part of him as surely as an arm or leg, a necessity as intense as breathing. He opened his eyes, the fire glowing through them – as if flames were flickering in his irises – and placed his hands upon the bars. Nudging the fire gently, he directed it towards them, feeling the tiniest strand curl around them and ignite. Almost without his direction, the flame grew and spread along the bars. He drew back and watched as it thrived, totally free of his control. As the bars turned red-hot and shimmered through the heat, he picked up the rusty old sword and sliced a line through the top, the curve of the blade cutting through the metal like a knife through butter. The flames ached to consume the sword, tongues licking and curling around its length, but Zuko held them back – focused them on their task – and felt them recede and obey. The sword flashed again, through the bottom of the bars, and again Zuko redirected the flames.

It was an exhilarating feeling, to have such an intense and autonomous element obey him unquestioningly, despite its burning need to consume everything in its path. The section of the bars he'd sliced through dropped to the ground, as he slung the sword through his belt, leaving a sizeable hole for him to climb through. The fire was still burning though, so he again placed his palms over it and drew it back, mingling the new fire with the one that flowed through his veins. He climbed through the hole and surveyed the prison. It was large, for a simple town, and he remembered seeing a labyrinth of doors and cells on his way in. He had no idea where to start, but knew he had to search as quickly as possible, lest the guards come to check on him and find him gone. He headed through a door to his right, and called the others names softly. He'd been searching for around half an hour when he heard a quiet, but urgent, "in here."

Zuko hurried to the cell the call had originated from and peered through the bars. Sokka stared back out at him.

"Finally," the boy drawled, "I thought you'd gotten lost, or something." There was a hint of relief in his eyes, as if he'd been worried Zuko mightn't come at all.

"Had to break out of prison," Zuko said, by way of explanation.

Sokka narrowed his eyes, "they found you out?"

"No," Zuko said vaguely and placed his palms on the bars.

"What're you..?" Sokka trailed off, "oh."

Once the bars were sufficiently heated, Zuko swung the sword straight through the middle. Sokka watched, slightly in awe. Zuko cut smoothly through the bottom, and stepped to the side as the bars clattered to the ground. He drew the heat back from them and felt it settle.

"Nice," Sokka complimented him as he stepped through the bars, "I see someone remembered how to fire bend."

Zuko smiled, "yeah."

Sokka sighed in relief, if Zuko was still smiling; chances were he hadn't remembered anything about his past. "I know where the others are," he told him, "but first, I need to reclaim my sword."

"Sokka," Zuko began, "I really think-"

"Relax, Jerky," Sokka clapped him on the shoulder, "it's just across the hall in that room over there. Now will you melt the lock? Or do we have sit here while I attempt to pick it?"

Zuko sighed and headed over to the room in question, grabbed the lock, melted it, and stood back with his arms over his chest. A few minutes later Sokka emerged with his sword, boomerang, and some spear thing Zuko was certain he hadn't had before.

"Let's go," Sokka pointed the spear in the direction they were to go and headed down it. Zuko sighed and followed him, laughing slightly when Sokka nearly tripped over the thing. They passed dozens of cells, most unoccupied, but a few held various criminals imprisoned for myriad crimes. Some of them begged them to let them out, others leered and made crude comments, one actually raised the alarm.

"Crap," Sokka hissed as the loud wail filled the air, "how many guards are around?"

Zuko thought about it, "er...eight?" He guessed, "but most of them were drunk."

"That's still too many," Sokka mumbled, "we need to rescue the others," he took off, running hurriedly down the corridor, Zuko hot on his heels. When they reached the cell, they were greeted with a shocking silence. There was no one there.

"What?" Sokka whacked the bars with his boomerang, "they were in here."

Zuko heard the distant yelling and thumping, and deduced that the guards were well on their way. "They probably escaped,' he hissed, "we have to go."

"There's no sign of it," Sokka hesitated, "what if they moved them?"

"Then we'll come back later," Zuko glanced worriedly behind him, "we have to go _now_."

"Go where, exactly?" Sokka yelled, frustrated that his plan had failed.

"Anywhere!" Zuko threw his hands up, "just not prison."

"You boys aren't going nowhere," a loud voice drawled from behind them.

"Run," Zuko pushed Sokka in the opposite direction of the soldiers, "I'll hold them off."

"But-" Sokka hesitated.

"You have to find the others." Zuko had already turned around to face the guards.

"Ok," Sokka tore off down the corridor. A few guards started after him, but Zuko drew his sword and blocked off the passageway. He settled unconsciously into a fighting stance that felt as familiar as walking, and smirked as the guards shifted nervously.

"So Sokka," Azor's expression was a mixture of betrayal and anger, "you're a traitor."

Zuko shrugged, "seems like it."

"I knew there was something off about you," Huang spoke up, eyes steely, "how did you break out of the cell?"

"It was rusty," Zuko lied, determined to keep the element of surprise, "not much of a challenge."

"Well you won't break out again," Harsa ran at him, sword outstretched. Zuko parried effortlessly, pushing Harsa's sword up, twisting his own blade around the other, and jerked it out of the stunned guard's hands. The sharp clatter rebounded off the walls in the silence that followed.

"Get him." Azor commanded. Zuko tensed and stepped back slightly, balancing his weight as he prepared for the attack. Several rushed him at once. He parried and disarmed one, knocked the other's blade out of the way, and dodged under the swing of the third. A fourth took a quick jab at his side which Zuko side-stepped, allowing the guard to continue on and collide with another. Azor came in with a giant axe, his swings strong but slow. Zuko abandoned defence in favour of evasion, convinced his rusty sword would shatter upon impact with Azor's monster of a weapon. He dodged a swing and was forced to leap aside as another guard (Harsa, he thought belatedly) rushed through, having retrieved his sword. The passageway was tight, though, and left very little room for both fighting and dodging. He soon found himself backed against a wall, Huang's sharp spear point digging into his neck. He gulped, and let the sword drop from his fingers.

He was roughly dragged from the wall and his arms forced behind his back. Someone chained his wrists tightly and kicked him down onto his knees.

"Do you know what we do with traitors?" Huang hissed, grabbing the back of Zuko's head roughly.

Zuko remained silent, feeling it was best not to respond at all.

"We string them up," Azor chuckled, but it was nothing like the easy laughter Zuko had heard in the break-room, this was a dark and pain-promising chuckle.

"By the ankles," a guard that Zuko didn't know pulled him to his feet and stuck his face threateningly close to his own, "and we use them as a piñata."

"Playing tough are we?" Huang snarled, "we'll see how tough you really are."

Zuko thought, somewhat randomly, that Huang had spoken more words in the last five minutes than the entire afternoon he had 'known' him. He supposed that wasn't especially important in light of his current predicament – not that he thought it would ever hold an iota of significance – but with an imminent threat of torture, it seemed his mind was desperately trying to distract itself. As he was dragged down the passageway, he wondered whether Sokka had made it out of the prison. He hoped he'd found the others. He heard the harsh grating of a cell door being opened, and winced as he was shoved to the ground. He felt cold metal clink around his ankles, and then suddenly his blood was streaming towards his head. He opened his eyes – he couldn't remember when he'd closed them – and found that the world was upside down.

"Great," he muttered, face reddening, swinging slightly, his ankles firmly attached to the roof of the cell.

"Brought you some company," one of the guards laughed, talking to someone Zuko couldn't see, "and a show."

"I call first blow," a deep voice he recognised to be Azor's floated past his ears. Zuko tensed in anticipation and hoped to any omnipotent being that might be watching that Azor wasn't going to use his axe. He doubted there'd be much left of him afterwards. He was strangely relieved when all he felt was a fist, though still painful, barrelling into his stomach. He grunted and clenched his eyes shut as he swung wildly, the guards mocking laughter ringing in his ears. He gasped as another punch squeezed the air out of his lungs and bruised a few ribs. He refused to make a sound, though, knowing it would bring them greater satisfaction.

Ten minutes later, he was sporting what he hoped was only a cracked rib, but felt excruciatingly painful such that he suspected it was broken, myriad bruises that would hurt like hell the next day and possibly a broken finger when his hand had smashed into the wall with the force of momentum from a punch. Mercifully, they'd left his face alone, although he'd sweated enough that the make-up and almost completely washed off his face. None of the guards had recognised him, though, so he supposed he wasn't well known in the village – whoever it was that he was. Not to mention the fact that his face was so red, you probably couldn't even tell the difference between healthy and scar tissue.

"Now don't go anywhere," Huang said coldly as they left, "we'll have some more fun tomorrow." The door clanged shut and Zuko distantly heard the lock click through the pounding in his head.

"Zuko?" He heard a small voice from somewhere below and tried to look in the direction it had come from. He failed, lacking the sheer strength it would require to perform such a feat without the use of his hands.

"Ummm...hi?" He muttered, head swimming from the overflow of blood.

"It's Katara," the voice came closer, and a head covered in thick brown hair entered his vision.

"Oh," he closed his eyes, head throbbing, and tried to focus on something else, "you didn't escape, then?"

"I don't know," she replied, "I mean, I didn't, obviously, but they put Aang and Toph in a different cell, so..."

"Sokka's," Zuko paused, wincing as his rib flared, "he's out there somewhere, looking for the others."

Katara looked at him, a slightly hesitant expression on her face, "are you ok?" she asked, "I mean, I saw what they did."

"...fine." he muttered, finding it difficult to even breathe, let alone talk.

"I'd help," she jostled her hands, frustrated, "but they've chained my hands behind my back so..."

"S'ok," he felt the maddening pressure increase.

Suddenly, there was something underneath him, holding his head up so the blood didn't flow quite so heavily. He realised it was Katara's shoulder his head was resting on.

"Thanks," he sighed in relief as some of the pressure subsided.

"So why'd they do that to you?" she asked, concerned.

"I pretended to be one of them," he explained, "Sokka's plan,"

"Naturally," Katara shook her head in exasperation.

"Well it worked," Zuko continued, "until they threw me in prison as some sort of test. I broke out, rescued Sokka-"

"Rescued Sokka?"

"Long story," Zuko went back to his narrative, "and we went looking for you guys, but you weren't there, and some crazy prisoner called the guards in on us. I held them off while Sokka ran, but they were a little bit angry about being lied to."

"Just a little?" Katara teased good-naturedly.

"Hmm," he groaned as Katara moved slightly, jostling his rib.

"Sorry," she stopped moving.

He just grunted in reply, teeth clenched tightly together.

"So how'd you break out?" She asked conversationally, trying to take his mind off of the pain.

"Fire bending," he smiled slightly.

"You remembered?" There was that curious hint of worry in her voice that Zuko had heard in Sokka's when he'd rescued him from the cell. It seemed they were still hiding something from him, something about his past.

"Sort of," he listened for the fire and sighed as he felt it flickering, "It's been inside me all along," he said softly, "a tiny flame."

"I've always wondered how that works," Katara admitted, "I mean, Aang and Toph and I, we all _manipulate_ the elements, you _create_ fire from nothing."

"I'm not sure," Zuko felt it pulse in time with his heartbeat, "but I feel it inside me, and it's endless, but when it leaves my body it just...grows, like it's _alive_."

"It continues on without you." She said softly.

"It's...incredible," he breathed.

"But dangerous," there was a harsh note in her voice, "and uncontrollable."

"Only if you allow it to be," Zuko remembered how he'd broken out of the cell, "it's wild but it..._listens_._"_

"I've never met a fire bender much concerned with restraint," Katara said bitterly, "they're always burning and destroying."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Alarmed, Katara whipped her head around, jarring his rib again.

"Sorry!" she stilled again.

Zuko forced himself to breathe and focus on something other than the burning pain in his side.

"What for?" Katara asked him, and he could hear that nervous note in her voice.

"Huh?" he was still slightly distracted.

"You said sorry," she clarified, "what for?"

"If I...hurt you," he said finally, "in the past, if _I_ burned, if _I_ destroyed."

"Oh," she said, relieved it was just a general apology, "it's ok, I," she hesitated, "I guess I don't really blame you anymore."

"So I did, then," he said quietly.

"Yes," she answered truthfully, "you did. But..." she paused and then realised that she truly believed what it was she was saying, "you changed," she finished, "and now you're on the good side."

"And I'm glad," she said into the silence, "really glad that you did."

"So am I," he smiled slightly, "even if I can't remember what I was like before," he joked.

Katara frowned then, forced to remember that his change of heart hadn't actually happened. He was only here now because he couldn't even remember his own name, let alone his desperate quest to capture the avatar. But she couldn't bring herself to hate him anymore. This boy, hanging from the roof, head resting on her shoulder, was not the Zuko who'd chased them around the world. He just wasn't. He was so different, almost like another person. He smiled, he laughed, he was _nice_ and kind, and he apologised for things he couldn't even _remember_. Try as she might, she just couldn't equate him with the sullen, angry, rage-driven Zuko of the pre-amnesia period. She wondered if he'd ever remember and, selfishly, she wished he wouldn't.

Her thoughts drifted back to that day in Ba Sing Se, when they'd been trapped in the caves and Zuko had told her about his mother. He'd said the fire nation had taken her away from him, that they had that in common. He had acted, she realised, a lot like he did now. She had believed him then, when he'd said that he'd changed, that he'd given up on capturing Aang. He's seemed so sincere and honest, and all that wild, angry, rage was gone, so how could she not? But then he'd betrayed her and sided with Azula, and it had returned. And now, all that rage and anger had vanished as if it had never existed. A life of pain and loss forgotten, buried, in the deep recesses of his mind. He was happier now, she was certain, than he'd ever been, and surely he was better off? Perhaps he never had to remember at all. And then maybe she could forget, she had already forgiven.

"Katara?" Zuko broke into her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I think I might be able to get myself down," he mused, "how far up can you get me?"

She ducked down and balanced his head on her own, then stepped up to her full height, "that's about it."

She felt him shift slightly, "what are you doing?"

"When I say move," he told her, "move."

"...ok." she said, curiously.

Zuko braced himself, and then, using all of his upper body strength, pulled himself up and close to the chains that bound his legs. Mustering all the breath he could, he breathed deeply and at the same time, nudged the flame. It grew and obediently flowed up his throat. He breathed out and onto the chains, and the flames followed, engulfing them.

"Move." He told Katara.

She obediently stepped out of the way and then looked up to watch what he was doing.

As they melted together, he started swinging wildly, wincing in pain each time his rib was jolted. He worked up the momentum and then used the only remotely sharp object he had at his disposal – his teeth. He bit the chain, mentally holding the fire from burning him, and felt it move under his force. It was severely weakened and, after a few attempts he got through it. His triumph was short lived however as, free from the chains; he plummeted to the ground and landed on his head.

He bit back a scream as his rib cracked further, and barely noticed Katara had kneeled beside him and was calling his name. He blacked out from the pain, and when he woke later, it was to a pair of concerned blue eyes.

"You idiot." She told him, somewhat fondly.

"Mmmph," he replied, his head aching.

"You've got a nice bump on your head," Katara informed him, "and if that rib wasn't broken before, well, it is now."

"At least I'm on the ground," he winced.

"Hmph," she jostled her chained wrists again, "I wonder...could you do the same to mine?"

"I might hurt you," he felt a bit like a hooked fish, lying on the ground with his feet and hands bound.

"You didn't hurt yourself," she reminded him, "at least, not with the fire."

His head pounded again, "I don't know if I have the control..." he trailed off as the pain intensified.

"I need to start healing that rib," she said, worried.

"It'll be-"

"If you say _fine_," she warned him.

"...ok," he finished.

"Just try," she turned around so the chains were facing him, and knelt down slightly so he could reach them. He felt her hair tickle his nose as he leant forward.

"Tell me if it hurts," he demanded.

"Ok."

Slowly, exerting as much control as he could, he willed the fire to course up his throat. He breathed gently on the chains and kept a tight restraint on the fire's growth. It fought his control briefly, but subsided. The chains grew warm. He held the heat back from Katara's skin, it took all of his focus and left him feeling drained. Controlling fire, he realised, was so much harder than creating it. It had a will of its own, and demanded to be unleashed on the world. When the chains had reached a sufficient heat he stopped blowing, remembering not to release his hold on it, and started biting down on the now pliable material. It broke and he slowly drew the heat out, dropping back to the ground once he was done – completely exhausted.

Katara rubbed her stiff wrists, allowing the blood to flow back into them, and then focused on Zuko.

"How're you going to heal?" he asked, "you don't have any water."

She smiled and made a swirling motion with her hands, water seeming to materialise out of thin air to follow them.

"Did you...create that?" He asked, confused.

"No, there's water in air," she informed him, "I just separated it from everything else."

"That's-"he winced again as his rib flared.

Katara released the water back into the air, and reached down to unbutton his shirt.

"Need to get a good look," she explained as she did so.

Zuko blushed slightly and said nothing. Once she'd removed his shirt, she laid her hands gently on his chest, feeling for any internal wounds. Her hands were cool and soft, and sent shivers down his spine as her fingers flitted gently across his skin, her touch almost feather-light. She probed the area around his broken rib and pain flared through his chest; he bit down on his lip to keep from screaming.

"That's definitely broken," she drew the water back from the air, covered her hands with it, and laid them back on the same spot. Almost immediately Zuko felt a cool numbness surround and isolate the pain, driving it out.

"This might hurt," she warned him and then jerked her hands to the side. He felt a sharp crack and this time he couldn't stop the scream. He thought he might've blacked out again, but he wasn't sure. He guessed he had, because when he next opened his eyes, she was nowhere in sight, and his head was resting on something soft. He groaned slightly but felt only a little pain from his rib.

"Sorry," a voice from above him drifted to his ears, "I had to set it back in place," a cool hand was stroking his head, and he could feel the pain in his skull and the intense throbbing ease away.

"Thanks," he mumbled, now aware that his head was on her lap.

"You're welcome," he could hear the smile in her voice.

He started to sit up and then winced slightly as the rib flared.

"You should probably stay lying down," she told him and pressed him back down, "I set the rib, but it'll take a while to heal properly and unnecessary movement will only slow it down."

"Oh," he allowed himself to be pushed back down without a fight. He realised that his feet and hands were untied and flexed them experimentally. They were still sore, and he seemed to have sprained his finger. Katara caught his wince and grabbed his hand.

"Did you hurt something else?" she asked him, gently squeezing it as she searched for the source of the pain.

He blushed, cursing his fair skin, and mumbled, "Finger."

"That's not too bad," she inspected it, "it's just sprained," she engulfed it in water, "good as new in a day or two."

"Thanks." He blushed deeper as he realised that she hadn't let go of his hand.

Katara seemed to realise this as well, and he saw a slight pink grace her cheeks. She still hadn't let go, though.

"Ummm, so," he remembered where they were, "you should probably escape," he told her, "now that you can water bend."

"You're in no condition to run anywhere," she argued, "not with that rib."

"I didn't say we," he looked away.

"I won't leave you," she stuck her chin out stubbornly.

"You should find the others," he said quietly, "break them out if you need to, while you still can."

"But-"

"When the guards come back they'll just tie you up again," he pointed out, "and probably, they'll put you in another cell. This is your chance, you have to go."

"I can't." She met his eyes; blue on gold.

"You _have_ to."

"But when the guards come back..." she trailed off.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that you free the others," he smiled slightly, "and then you can come back and storm the place if you want to."

"I will," she promised, chin set in determination.

"I know," he said quietly, and somehow, he did.

Their eyes met again and he could see something else in her gaze, something beyond the ever-present tinge of worry, something that had replaced the hatred she'd radiated when they'd first met. Impossibly, the room felt as if it were shrinking, her face growing closer and closer.

Suddenly he heard noise approaching.

"Go," he hissed, "you have to go _now_."

"I'll come back," she promised again, gently setting his head on the ground and standing to her feet.

"I'll be waiting."

Hurriedly, she bent water from the air and sliced at the bars, within moments she'd formed a hole and had climbed through it. She glanced back quickly and met his gaze one last time, _I'll be back, I promise_, and then she was gone.

The guards arrived moments later and surveyed the hole in shock and then anger.

"She's gone," one of them yelled.

"How'd he get done from there?" another noticed.

The locked clicked and the door swung open, Huang sweeping through and right up to Zuko. He bent down and grabbed him, pulling him half-way up.

"You'll pay for this," he hissed, "tell me where they are."

"Who?" Zuko feigned innocence.

"Those kids we caught yesterday," Huang shook him, "one of which _just_ escaped, _where are they_?"

Zuko sighed in relief, so they'd all escaped then. He fixed a mocking smile on his face, and wished he didn't feel the need to aggravate his captor – doubtless he was going to regret this in the near future.

"Make me."

_..._

A/N: Don't ask where this entire chapter came from because I haven't the foggiest. It wrote itself and I was powerless to stop it. I'm only having the one part here because Aang isn't in this chapter, so if you're a Katara/Aang person and still reading this story – pretend any inferences to deeper feelings on Katara and Zuko's parts never happened. I'll rectify in the second part of the next chapter, for you guys – if you're still interested.


	8. Chapter 8

*Read last paragraph for details of new comp*

A/N: ...okay, first off; I'm sorry about the delay, this chapter's been giving me no small amount of grief. Secondly; I'm really, really, sorry but I don't think the Aang/Katara stuff is going to happen. I know I said it would, and I apologise profusely to those of you who may have followed this story purely for that reason but it just isn't working out for me. The way I write is, quite simply, unplanned. I don't plot out a story and I almost never have an overview in mind. Usually I have a beginning and an ending to head towards, that's it. And because of this, the way I write is spontaneous and often surprising to even me. The poll gave me the Katara/Zuko idea and it just fits so well with this story that I barely needed to work it in. Like I said in the last chapter, my writing constantly mutinies, throws me overboard, and just simply writes itself. Even _I _don't know the outcome most of the time. So again, I'm really and truly sorry for that, and I understand if you guys abandon ship, too. (on the plus side, there's a short story up for grabs so...)

...

Zuko sighed in relief, so they'd all escaped then. He fixed a mocking smile on his face, and wished he didn't feel the need to aggravate his captor – doubtless he was going to regret this in the near future.

"Make me."

...

Zuko woke to a blinding pain in his, well, everywhere. His entire body ached and he groaned as his eyes flickered open. He was still in a cell, not that it was particularly surprising, although it looked like he was in a different one from the one Katara had broken out of. He struggled to remember what had happened before he apparently blacked out, but there were sizable gaps in his memory. He recalled aggravating the guards and being beaten mercilessly for it. His head throbbed, and he could taste the metallic tang of blood on his lips. He moved to investigate the source of the bleeding but realised, belatedly, that he was chained tightly to the wall. The fact that he hadn't realised he was standing up was testament to how muddled and vague his brain felt. As far as he could see – which wasn't far as they chained his head to the wall as well – all four of his limbs were firmly ensconced by chains. He could barely move a muscle which, he supposed, was a good thing considering he'd broken a rib and, in light of the dubious gaps in his already porous memory, could have broken just about anything else.

And if the conspicuous throbbing _pain_ that seemed to engulf his entire body was any indication, well, he probably wasn't walking out of here anytime soon. At least, not by his own devices. He wondered distantly if the others were coming to rescue him. He sort of hoped so – pride be damned – someone needed to save him from himself. He just couldn't help the burning, insatiable, urge to irritate and aggravate his, admittedly easy, captors. He'd decided that whoever he was, he wasn't accustomed to giving in or backing down. He flexed his leg and flinched slightly as the pain intensified. How long had he been chained here? Beneath the bruises he could feel his muscles screaming for relief, stiff and rigid from constant use.

He gritted his teeth and flexed the other one, allowing the muscles to tighten slowly, painfully, before they released. At least they didn't feel broken. He flexed his arms slightly, wincing as they flared up, one more painful than the other. Although he supposed that might've been due to the broken rib that resided near it.

He surveyed the new cell dispassionately. It looked pretty much identical to the last one; save the lack of a gigantic gaping hole Katara had carved for her escape. Not that a gigantic gaping hole would help him overly much considering his current situation. He wondered if Katara really _was_ coming back. She'd said she would, and last night he'd believed her. But he wasn't so positive anymore. Sure, they'd gotten along fairly well recently, but he had a feeling that whatever he'd done pre-amnesia had been bad, _really_ bad. It was the only scenario that could account for everyone's reluctance to talk about it; the only possibility that explained the hesitance, the nervousness, the pure _worry_ in their eyes whenever he seemed to remember some small fragment of the past.

He kept seeing the caves from his dream, flashing across his mind, representing some event or concept that continued to elude him. Aang had assured him that he had nothing to do with the lightning but...well; he just had this strange feeling that the caves were important in some way. That whatever he'd done to make Katara _hate_ him had occurred there. His thoughts drifted back to their imprisonment together – it seemed that, at least, she didn't hate him anymore. She'd actually said she was _glad_ he was around. And considering the outright hostility she'd had absolutely no qualms in displaying towards him in the past, well, he was considering it a massive step in a good direction.

He wasn't entirely sure _why_ Katara's hostility had bothered him as much as it did, though. Sure, no one enjoyed the feeling of being loathed (especially if one had no idea what they'd done to deserve said loathing), but it had been more than that. It wasn't just that he wanted her acceptance accompanied by some small amount of civility; he wanted her friendship. He didn't want placid ambivalence to his presence; he wanted her to _enjoy_ being around him. But he didn't know _why_. Katara was, well; mean (to him, anyway), stubborn and truthfully a little snobbish. But she was capable of incredible kindness – even towards someone she disliked immensely – and she was generous and, more than that, he felt that she genuinely _cared_. 'I'll be back', she had said last night, and the sincerity and determination he had detected in her eyes had left him with no doubts on the matter.

He felt a warmth in his chest; a sort of glow, so vastly different from the raging fire that had burned there previously. He was starting to realise that his fire was directly impacted upon by his emotions. Before, it had been rabid and wild; a chained animal roaring it's discontent and fury, rattling the bars of its cage. Now, it was warm and pliant, a lap dog resting it's head on its master's knee; soulful eyes gazing, understanding, loving.

He felt strangely...calm; for all that he was chained to the wall of a prison cell, and he could detect a distinct hint of happiness silver-lining his thoughts. He hadn't realised just how much her acceptance meant to him; how much her _friendship_ – dare he even think he had it? – meant to him. He couldn't fathom why, but somehow it did. The other's acceptance, friendship, hadn't meant nearly as much. Perhaps it was because he had had to earn Katara's? Not that the others had fallen over themselves to declare their undying friendship, but hers had been the hardest to obtain. Not that he was being so presumptuous as to call himself her friend. But it was more than that. He had a feeling that if the others all promptly decided to hate him, it _still _wouldn't hurt as much as seeing those vivid blue eyes dark with loathing.

He felt a smile creep onto his face, gentle and curling, and then promptly shook it off. He wasn't prone to smiling randomly for no reason at all – at least, he thought he wasn't. So why now, in a _prison cell_ of all places, was he grinning like an inebriated fool? When the last thing that had floated through his mind was a pair of oceanic blue eyes? And there was that smile again; he could feel it tugging the corners of his mouth, unrelenting and almost impossible to resist. His lips curved.

"What're you smilin' about, boy?" A harsh voice dragged Zuko back to the less than pleasant reality he was faced with.

He didn't have to respond. He could just ignore...but no, Zuko was clearly a glutton for punishment.

"Just thinking about the expression on your face when I beat you while chained to a wall," Zuko said glibly, inwardly cursing his inability to just keep his mouth shut.

The guard chuckled darkly, "you wanna fight me, eh?"

Zuko snorted, "Wouldn't be much of a fight."

"Why you insolent little slug-rat," the guard fumbled with the keys in his rage, "I'll punch you so 'ard yer 'ead'll be ringin' fer weeks!"

"You?" Zuko laughed almost manically, "You punch like a _girl_."

The guard in question muttered a string of profanities at him and dropped his keys completely.

"You can't even open a _door_," Zuko mocked, he was feeling just a tad vindictive.

It was at that point that all hell broke loose – from the guard's perspective of course. A strong wind hurtled down the corridor and slammed the guard into a nearby wall, before a cascade of water engulfed him, freezing as it did so.

"Double whammer!" Someone yelled (Sokka, he assumed) and he heard the pounding of feet intermingled with the guard's fervent curses.

"Let me down, yeh ill-bred hooligans," he yelled, struggling furiously within his icy prison. He was, predictably, ignored

When his rescuers reached the door of his prison, Zuko was finally able to make them out. Of course, he had known instantly who it was, but he felt a certain relief at having it visually confirmed.

"Zuko?" Sokka exclaimed, "What a surprise to see _you_ here."

"Indeed," he felt inexplicably happy but was equally determined not to show it, "you certainly took your time."

Toph began to bend the metal of the cell, completely disregarding the abandoned keys lying at her feet, although, Zuko supposed, she probably hadn't seen them anyway. Then again, she seemed to recognise objects on the ground so perhaps she simply wanted to cause as much damage as humanly possible. He could sympathise. There was a short crunching sound, and the bars ripped apart as if composed entirely of sodden paper. She stepped into the cell and began the same process on his chains. They shattered almost immediately and Zuko pitched forward, now unsupported and unable to hold his own weight, given the numbness of his legs. Sokka caught him before he reached the ground, boasting about his lightning fast 'warriors' reflexes, and slinging Zuko's arm around his shoulders to support the other boy's weight.

"Thanks," Zuko muttered, somewhat mortified that he needed such help. He looked up to see Katara rushing over, eyes wide with concern, and had to fight to restrain the smile that threatened to overtake his face. This was becoming a problem.

"Are you ok?" she asked breathlessly as she examined him.

"Yeah I'm fine," he winced slightly as she prodded a sore spot, "really, it's ok."

"No, it's not," she didn't look at him, but he could tell she still felt guilty about leaving him.

"It's just a few bruises," he tried his best to look like he was simply leaning on Sokka because he felt like it.

"And a broken rib, and a sprained finger, and who _knows_ what else," she retorted.

"She's right,"" Aang said quietly, "you got hurt, because of us," he finished, quieter than he'd started.

Zuko felt the guilt Aang was emanating seemed vastly disproportionate to the event he was referring to, "it's my own fault," he reassured him, "I couldn't keep my mouth shut."

Katara seemed to pick up on his attempt and joined him, "Yeah," she fixed him with a stern glare, "I'll have you know, that I throw a mean punch," she informed him, "so if you _ever_ disrespect my gender again, your head," she tapped the extremity in question, "won't know what hit it."

The others seemed to wince at her threat, but Zuko detected a distinct lack of malice that, strangely, warmed him in ways he couldn't describe.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said cheekily, a small smile he just couldn't control gracing his features. Katara blushed slightly, the gentlest shade of pink gracing her cheeks, and returned to examining his injuries.

"We'd better leave," Zuko reminded them, now that the situation had been partially defused, "before the guards get here."

"Oh, they won't be escaping anytime soon," Toph grinned wickedly.

Zuko decided he just _didn't_ want to know, "regardless, I just want to get out of here."

"I don't like the idea of you moving right now," Katara worried her lip.

"D'you wanna make camp here?" Sokka asked sarcastically, "boil some tea, and invite all the nice fire benders to the party?"

Katara scowled at him, "shut up."

"I could probably carry him on a piece of metal, or something," Toph suggested.

"Guys I'm fine," Zuko attempted to stand upright, "really." He wobbled slightly and then grinned as he managed to stand on his own.

"Now try to walk," Katara said knowingly.

His rib flared intensely as he tried to take a step. Gasping, he grasped his chest with his hand and placed the other on Sokka's shoulder for support.

"Ok," he conceded, noting the pained expression on Aang's face.

Toph quickly reshaped the fractured cell bars into a smooth stretcher type object and, with Sokka's help; Zuko began to lower himself down onto it. When he was about half-way there, he felt his arm slip from around Sokka's shoulders and he plummeted to the ground. The last thing he heard, before the intense pain caused him to black out, was Sokka's curse and the heated anger in the form of Katara that lashed out at the unfortunate water tribe boy. Zuko smiled to himself, his brain slightly addled by the pain, and vaguely thought he was somewhat glad to hear that anger directed at someone other than himself for once.

...

A/N: I'm going to end this chapter here because it's been far too long since my last update. Sorry about all the one-sided fluff – if you could really and truly call it fluff, I mean I've read fluff and trust me, this doesn't really qualify, but relative to my usual writing it's considerably fluffy – for those of you who either hate 'fluff' or hate 'Zutara' but are reading this story anyway (hugs to you all), there will be more action next chapter I promise, and yes, for those who love the fluff, there will be more Zutara but honestly, my writing is severely underdeveloped in the romance area so don't expect too much. I'm currently wondering if anyone actually reads these, or if I'm rabbiting on for no particular reason?

Actually it's about time I said thanks to all my reviewers, you really do make my day. Especially those of you who take the time to tell me exactly what you think of certain things, how I can improve, and just advice on the story in general. It warms my heart In fact, I'm putting another short story 'comp' out there for you guys, same deal as last time, only the 'comp' part of this is...the best idea _for_ the short story. Or best couple of ideas. Basically, if I love the idea; consider the story written. So let the ideas flow.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So it's been awhile. Apologies, got caught up in studying for various things...as well as being mobbed by a rather persistent original story idea. It's been circulating around my head for the past few days and I just can't seem to shake it off. Perhaps it'll turn into book or, like most of my ideas, be half-written and then abandoned by the wayside in favour of the next thing that pops into my mind. But don't worry, I'm somewhat invested in this particular fanfiction, and I'd very much like to see it finished.

Currently working on one idea for the 'short story' thing, and considering another. Still open for suggestions though.

One of you guys mentioned that you think the 'romance' is moving a little too quickly...I hope it's not too terrible, but I probably can't alter the speed now for reasons that will soon become apparent.

...

Toph quickly reshaped the fractured cell bars into a smooth stretcher type object and, with Sokka's help; Zuko began to lower himself down onto it. When he was about half-way there, he felt his arm slip from around Sokka's shoulders and he plummeted to the ground. The last thing he heard, before the intense pain caused him to black out, was Sokka's curse and the heated anger in the form of Katara that lashed out at the unfortunate water tribe boy. Zuko smiled to himself, his brain slightly addled by the pain, and vaguely thought he was somewhat glad to hear that anger directed at someone other than himself for once.

...

"_Let me in!" A young boy demanded of a pair of guards. No more than thirteen, he bore a look of intense determination. Raven-black hair was swept back behind his head in a rigid ponytail, and his bright gold eyes, narrowed in defiance, seemed to burn with resolve. The guards remained firm, ignoring the boys attempts to pass them, and gently pushing him back when he attempted to dart through an opening. A middle-aged man walked up to the frustrated boy and placed a battle-worn hand on his young shoulder._

"_Prince Zuko, what's wrong?" The deep, serene, voice filled the hall with its warmth. The guards stood promptly to attention, bowing slightly in respect._

"_I want to go into the war chamber, but the guard won't let me pass!" Zuko kicked the floor in frustration, lowering his eyes in an attempt to veil his disappointment. Iroh wrapped his hand more firmly around the boy's shoulder and led him over to the side, away from the guards prying ears._

"_You're not missing anything, trust me." Iroh reassured him gently, "these meetings are dreadfully boring."_

"_If I'm gonna rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?" Zuko fixed Iroh with his bright eyes and fought to keep a pleading look of his face._

"_Very well," Iroh sighed, "but you must promise not to speak." He patted Zuko on the shoulder, "these old folks are a bit sensitive, you know."_

"_Thank you Uncle!" Zuko bowed, excitement threatening to spill onto his face._

_Iroh slung his arm around Zuko's shoulders and led him back towards the guards. The guards moved aside to let Iroh pass, taking no notice of the young boy. As they entered the chamber, Zuko looked around in something akin to awe. One of the generals was already speaking, so they quickly took their places around the table._

"_The Earth Kingdom defences are concentrated here," the general was saying, pointing to a position on the large map that engulfed the table, "a dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors, so I am recommending the 41__st__ division."_

_An elderly looking man raised his eyes from the map, a confused expression on his face, "But the 41__st__ is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?"_

"_I don't," the General said coldly; face totally devoid of emotion, "They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear." A malicious smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, "what better to use as bait than fresh meat?"_

_Zuko eyes widened as the full implications of the general's plan hit him, "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that!" He jumped up, speaking even before he had realised he'd done so, "Those soldiers love and defend our nation!" he stared aghast at the general, "how can you betray them?"_

"_How dare you interrupt?" The general said angrily, clenching his hand into a fist and making as if to bodily threaten Zuko._

_Iroh stood, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder and staring the general down "that's enough." His stern voice echoed around the chamber._

"_No," Ozai's voice rang through the silence, quiet and deadly, "no it is not."_

"_I want satisfaction." The general demanded._

"_You will have it," Ozai replied coldly, refusing to spare Zuko even a glance._

"_Ozai," Iroh protested, "He's only-"_

"_Fine!" Zuko shook free of Iroh and faced the general, ignoring his Uncle's protests._

"_You will fight an Agni Kai," Ozai slowly rose from his seat, lip curled in disgust, "one hour."_

"_Fine." Zuko stormed out of the room. Iroh met Ozai's gaze and shook his head, eyes full of sorrow, "your own son," he muttered, "you are truly despicable." He left the room in absolute silence, Ozai's hate filled gaze boring into his back._

_He found Zuko just outside the building, bare-chested and bare-footed, practicing his fire bending with an almost eager look on his small face. He turned to face Iroh, as the other's soft steps alerted him to his presence. _

"_I'll beat him." Zuko promised, brow furrowed in concentration, "that general's nothing but a bag of hot air – I've seen him fight."_

_Iroh just smiled sadly, he had a terrible feeling about what was to come but he just couldn't place a finger on it. An hour later saw them heading for the traditional Agni Kai arena, Zuko burning with determination, Iroh beset with worry. As Zuko entered the arena, Iroh stepped off to the side._

_Zuko flexed in anticipation and fixed his gaze on the other side of the arena, where his opponent would emerge. As a man stepped into his field of vision, Zuko's determined expression morphed into one of abject horror. _

"_Please father," he begged, "I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" He felt the sand under his fingers shake with his father's footsteps._

"_You will fight for your honour." Ozai thundered, looking down at his son with disgust._

_Zuko threw himself onto the ground in traditional deference, "I meant you no disrespect," he fought to keep his emotions out of his voice, "I am your loyal son."_

"_Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Ozai scowled and kicked dust at the prone boy._

"_I won't fight you," Zuko raised his head, steely resolve burning in his eyes._

"_You will learn respect," Ozai snarled, "and suffering will be your teacher." He raised his hand and fire burst from it._

_A tear slid down Zuko's cheek as he stared into his father's merciless eyes, but he refused to look away. Ozai lowered his hand and brought it into line with Zuko's face._

_An anguished cry sliced through the air as flames, fuelled into life for a terrible purpose, ravaged the young boy's face. He fell to the ground, moaning and unable to prevent the tears that coursed down his face._

Zuko cried out in pain, kicking out and grasping the scarred side of his face with his hands. It burned fervently as if on fire, a heated anguish engulfing his senses. He gasped for breath as his broken rib protested the treatment.

"Zuko?" he heard a worried voice, but it was so distant he could barely make it out. The pain was too intense; it blocked all his other senses as it consumed him. He felt the tears seeping through his clenched eyelids and searing trails down his scarred cheek. Cool hands pried his fingers away and the burning heat began to subside. His eyes still tightly shut he lay on his back, gasping for air, rib twinging painfully with every rasping breath. The dream came back to him in a rush and his eyes opened as he shot up into a sitting position.

"It was my father," he gasped, "he did this."

"Did what?" Someone asked him patiently.

"This," he trailed his fingers over his scarred cheek, struggling to remember all the details of the dream.

"Your _father_ did that?" Someone questioned, outraged.

"You remember?" Another questioned and Zuko turned to meet Sokka's concerned – and hesitant – eyes.

"Sort of," he admitted, "I still don't remember anything about you guys, though."

"Oh," Sokka said, relieved, though he tried to hide it, "what did you remember then?"

"You said your _father_ did this?" Katara asked angrily, hands shaking as she rewound the bandages covering his chest.

"Yeah," Zuko said quietly, "I _felt_ it happen."

"How could anyone do that to their own _son_?" Toph spat on the ground in disgust, "that's just _wrong_."

Aang was staring at Zuko with something akin to horror and pity, his eyes wide and upset, "that's..." he trailed off, unable to even finish the sentence.

"And if that was a memory," Zuko began, "then I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation."

The others silence told him that they had already known that. He narrowed his eyes, "so it's true then," he noted the guilty expression on Aang's face, "why didn't you tell me?"

Aang shifted nervously under the onslaught of Zuko's gaze.

"We just..." he panicked, "Sokka?"

"We knew you'd remember in due time," Sokka covered smoothly, "and we wanted to spare you the, well you know, guilt and such of betraying your nation, for a while at least."

Zuko accepted this for the time being, "so Ozai's my father," he fixed Sokka with his golden gaze, "and I'm helping you bring him down."

"Well no wonder!" Katara half-yelled, blue eyes icy, "he practically burned half your face off!"

"I didn't think it was _that _bad," Zuko joked weakly.

"Don't even _try_ to defend him!" She stabbed his chest with her finger, "tell me what happened."

Zuko shook his head, "I don't remember all the details," he looked up, "but I think I defied him."

"And he did that to you?" Toph thumped the ground, "and I thought _my_ parents were bad."

"Is that why you hated me so much?" he asked Katara.

"What?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Because I'm the Prince of the enemy?"

"Not entirely," she admitted, "like I said before, you went good for about five minutes and then betrayed us."

Zuko's face fell at the reminder.

"But now you're _good_ good," Sokka put in, "for good. 'Scuse the pun." He laughed appreciatively at his little joke.

"Not funny," Katara whacked him on the arm as Toph chuckled. Aang remained quiet, a sort of despairing look fixed on his usually happy-go-lucky features. As the others trailed off, Zuko approached Aang being careful not to startle him since he seemed deep in thought.

"Aang?" He asked gently, waiting until a pair of grey eyes looked up to meet his – sorrow lurking in their depths. "Something wrong?"

"I just," Aang sighed and slumped to the ground, curling his knees up to his chest and resting his head on them.

Zuko sat down beside him and waited, silent, knowing Aang would talk when he was ready.

"I feel really bad," Aang finally admitted, gazing out across the sea – their current location was a cliff overlooking the ocean – his eyes reflecting the mercurial tones.

"About?" Zuko thought he knew, but asked anyway.

"Lying to you," Aang clenched the grass with his fingers, "I hate lying."

"If it helps," Zuko began, "I understand why you did."

Aang looked at him, a tiny flicker of hope intermingled with surprise dancing across his features, "you do?"

"Yeah," Zuko said quietly, watching the seagull-mice wheel and cavort in the air, "and I'm thankful."

"Why?" Aang questioned, confused, "we _lied_ to you about who you were, what you'd done..." he trailed off, thoughts running along the lines of Zuko having hated them and pursued them relentlessly around the world, only to end up losing his memory and being told that they were _friends_.

"Sometimes it's better to forget," Zuko recalled his dream, "some things are just too painful to remember."

"I guess," Aang replied, not entirely convinced.

"Besides," Zuko smiled slightly, "why bother with the past when the present's so much better?"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't have you guys in the past," Zuko said quietly, "did I?"

Somehow, instead of cheering Aang up Zuko's quiet confession only made him feel _worse_.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, leaping to his feet, "so, so, sorry." He ran off, and Zuko was left feeling incredibly confused and a little hurt. He turned his face back to the ocean, watching the waves roar and crumble against the rocks, tumbling into the shore and leaving wide trails of white foam in its wake. He listened to the squeaky squeals of the wheeling gull-mice, flicking their skinny tails at one another as they fought over some small scrap of food. He wondered what his life had been like – if his dream was any indication, it hadn't been pleasant. His thoughts drifted to the middle-aged man that had been in his dream. What was it that he'd called the man? That was right; he'd called him 'Uncle'. So at least _one_ member of his family loved him – had loved him, at least. He wondered where this Uncle of his was now, if he was alive, if he was on the 'good' side. His pensive thoughts were interrupted as something brushed against his arm. He turned slightly to see Katara seating herself next to him, close enough that he could just about feel the brush of her skin against his own.

"You looked lonely," she shrugged in response to his unasked question, "and I'm curious as to why Aang fled the campsite like a giant sabre-toothed moose-lion was on his tail."

"Oh," Zuko looked down, "I just said that I understand why you guys lied to me, and that I'm thankful you did."

"Why?" There was a hint of surprise in her voice, as well as some unidentifiable emotion.

"Some memories are best left forgotten."

"I know what you mean," she said quietly.

There was silence for awhile, both wrapped in their own thoughts.

"What happened when I was in prison?" Zuko asked randomly, keen on breaking the somewhat tense silence.

"Well I found Aang, Toph, and Sokka lurking around outside the village with Appa and MoMo," she shrugged, "and we sort of just rampaged around the prison looking for you," she looked down, "we didn't want to leave you there any longer than we had to."

His heart warmed slightly, "and then?"

"We found you, oh," she scowled, "Sokka dropped you and you blacked out from the pain, we fled the prison, jumped on Appa, and flew here."

"How long was I out?"

"Half a day," she said, "it was almost night when we found you, it's morning now."

"Thanks," he brushed some stray grass off of his knee, "by the way."

"For what?"

"Coming back," he met her eyes with his own – blue ice against golden fire, "you didn't have to."

"Of course I did!" Her eyes widened, "how could you say that?"

"I just..." he trailed off and looked away.

"Zuko," she grabbed his chin and turned him to face her, "you're part of the group," she informed him, "and I _always_ keep my promises." Her face softened as her fingers trailed from his chin down his neck to rest on his shoulder, "besides," she said gently, "I care about you."

"You do?" He asked, surprised but elated.

"Can't imagine why," she teased, "but I do." Her cheeks were dusted with the gentlest pink and Zuko felt his own warming at the somewhat unexpected admission. Impossibly, the distance between them seemed to be shrinking, but Zuko could've sworn he hadn't moved a muscle. His eyes were locked onto hers, his body rigid with tension. A timid smile curved her lips as she searched for something in his face. Barely daring to breathe, he watched her, waiting. She seemed to find what she was looking for and Zuko's lungs failed him entirely as her face moved so close he could feel the heat emanating from her skin.

"Why Zuzu," a cool voice from behind them turned the heated air to ice, "something you need to tell me?"

...Oooh, who could it be I wonder?...


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm only seeing a few chapters left for this, although who knows exactly where this story might go. I've been tossing up two ends for this chapter; one leads to maybe one or two more, and the other leads to quite a few...not sure which it'll end up being though.

Oh, 'thepenultimatefailure' your short story suggestion is up and running, titled 'Tales of the Jasmine Dragon'. For anyone else who's interested the synopsis is "post-war Zuko, Aang and Sokka serve at Iroh's teashop for a day. It's only serving tea...what's the worst that could happen?

...

Barely daring to breathe, he watched her, waiting. She seemed to find what she was looking for and Zuko's lungs failed him entirely as her face moved so close he could feel the heat emanating from her skin.

"Why Zuzu," a cool voice from behind them turned the heated air to ice, "something you need to tell me?"

...

Zuko leapt up, drawing the sword Sokka had lent him from its sheath and levelling it at the intruder's chest. He didn't recognise her, but it seemed like she knew him.

"Azula!" Katara hissed in shock, glancing around for the others. She noted that Sokka and Toph were in a stalemate with Ty Lee and Mai. Sokka had his sword up against Mai's neck while she had a sharp knife digging into his jugular. Ty Lee's fingers were ghosting over a pressure point in Toph's arm, only the arm in question was balancing a rather large rock over the girl's head. Aang was nowhere to be seen, she distantly recalled that he'd fled the camp earlier after a conversation with Zuko...

"You know her?" Zuko whispered to Katara, eyeing the smug look on Azula's face.

"Unfortunately," Katara muttered.

"As cute as this is," Azula said, voice elegant but deadly, "and by that I mean _disgusting_," she shuddered slightly, "I never took you for a traitor, brother."

"What are you talking about?" His sword point dropped slightly and he gave Azula a look that clearly said 'step away, you crazy, insane, person'. It never entered his mind that due to the whole amnesia thing, he could actually have forgotten that this scary looking girl was his sister.

"Oh don't play games with me," Azula scowled, "father's mad by the way," she grinned like the cat who'd caught the canary, "you just vanished, he thought you'd betrayed him again." She chuckled coldly, "I told him you wouldn't, but I guess I was wrong."

"I _don't_ know you." Zuko said firmly, wondering at the slightly horrified look on Katara's face, "...right?" he addressed the latter.

Katara looked away, a pained expression on her face. Her fingers itched to dump ocean water on the smirking fire bender but she couldn't. The first person Azula would attack would be Zuko, and in his confused state he mightn't be quick enough to react in time.

Azula's eyes widened slightly as she took in Zuko's determined denial of their familial relationship. Her cunning brain whirled as she put together the pieces of the puzzle. Clearly, something had occurred to make her brother forget his past. Obviously, he'd been found by the avatar's groupies (if they hadn't caused the amnesia in the first place) and been led to believe something other than the truth.

"Don't remember your own sister _Zuzu?_" Azula said coldly, brilliant mind already scheming, "what did you lot do to him? Smash him in the head with a rock?"

"What?" Zuko backed away from Katara, alarmed, "what is she talking about?"

"We didn't!" Katara defended, "we," she looked at Zuko, "we found you lying in the mud and when you woke, well, you couldn't remember anything so..."

"So you lied to him," Azula broke in, "and you told him, what? That he was part of your group?" She sneered, "He already refused that invitation once, don't you people learn?"

"Is that true?" Zuko asked quietly, eyes flicking from Azula's wicked smile to the anguish on Katara's face.

"...yes," Katara admitted, "remember what I told you about how you betrayed us after-"

"Yeah," Zuko cut in, "I remember, so the lightning..?"

"That was me," Azula interrupted him, "you're not _that_ powerful," her lip curled, "but you _were_ on my side," she continued, "and we triumphed together when the avatar fell-"

"But the avatar-" Zuko began, confused, Aang was alive so what was she on about?

"-is dead," Katara shot him a look, "but regardless, the fire nation's reign of terror is over."

Azula smirked, catching the correction, "how brave," she sneered, "going to fight my father yourself, are you? You wouldn't stand a chance."

Katara's reply was lost to Zuko, who had fallen to his knees as a wave of memories assaulted him.

_A lady was sitting by the edge of a small pond, a gentle smile on her face. She wore the traditional robes of Fire Nation royalty, the small head piece that denoted her position firmly fastened in her flowing black hair. A little girl played at the edge, picking up small rocks and pelting them into the once-still surface. She looked at him and smiled cruelly, "wanna join? Bet you can't hit that big ugly one over there!'_

_..._

_The same lady was seated again at the edge of the pond, only this time the gentle smile was replaced by multiple frown lines and her eyes were tormented._

"_Azula, don't do that." Her tired voice rang out across the water and stopped the little girl in her tracks. She was standing near the pond, hand raised, rock poised to strike a lethal blow._

"_They're just animals," she pouted._

"_You must respect all living things," the lady said gently._

"_Yeah," he stuck his tongue out at the girl, "respect all living things, Azula!"_

_..._

_He was walking along a corridor with the lady – his mother, he now knew – hands clasped politely behind his back, listening to the smooth tones of her voice as she explained some historical concept to him Sudden laughter caused him to glance sideways and, through the wide window, he caught sight of Azula teasing one of her friends – Mai. _

"_You like Zuzu!" She was saying, laughing cruelly, "how pathetic."_

_Zuko blushed an angry red and almost leapt out of the window. He would have, had his mother not held him back._

_..._

_He had just woken in the middle of the night as the sound of his door opening caught his ears – he had always been a light sleeper. He sat up drowsily, registering the familiar image of his mother as she came towards him._

"_Mum?" He yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes._

"_Zuko," his mother sat down on the side of his bed and hugged him tightly. She was looking somewhat dishevelled in comparison to her usual elegant self. Zuko drew back, worried, at the urgency in her tone._

"_What's wrong?" he asked, child-like and convinced it was some small thing like the time Azula had told her he wanted to be an air bender. 'I just thought it'd be cool to fly' he'd defended. His mother had only laughed, while Azula had sulked off disappointed at failing to get Zuko in trouble. This time though, it was more serious than that._

_..._

_He was standing resolutely by his father's side, as his grandfather's death was announced. His chin was trembling with the effort it took to hold back the tears when his mother was also named. A small tear had slipped from his grasp, sliding down his cheek, and his father had scowled at him. Beside him, Azula scoffed quietly, "baby," he heard her mutter under her breath. He had punched her then, right in the face, and had listened, satisfied, as she howled in pain. He hadn't even gotten into trouble since his father almost encouraged such things._

_..._

_He was crying quietly in the gardens, secreted away in between a few bushes and the wall. His eyes were red and puffy and his hands shook. His uncle had found him there and gently peeled away the leaves to come sit beside him on the ground. No words had passed between them; Iroh had simply wrapped Zuko in his warm embrace and held him as he cried. Zuko had never acknowledged it, preferring to pretend that it had never happened, but he had never forgotten – it marked the day when his uncle became the most important person in his life. _

_..._

_It was his thirteenth birthday. His father was ignoring him. Azula was pretending she had forgotten, smiling cruelly every time he looked at her. Zuko was thoroughly miserable, and wished fervently that his Uncle wasn't off on some diplomatic meeting near the borders of the fire nation. He was kicking sticks around in the gardens when he felt footsteps approaching from behind. He spun around, expecting Azula, and dropped the stick he was brandishing when his eyes met those of Mai. He blushed slightly, "oh, hi." _

"_Hi," she replied softly, pale cheeks a light pink, "happy birthday."_

"_Thanks," he scuffed his foot against the ground._

"_I got this for you," she held out a small package._

_His eyes widened slightly, "wow thanks," he accepted the present and held it reverently in his hands, smiling at her. She blushed further and then began to retreat, "well, I have to go, bye." She fled._

_He had smiled for awhile after that, someone other than his uncle cared..._

_..._

_He was standing at the end of an arena, waiting to face his opponent in a deadly Agni Kai. He was confident; he'd seen the General fight before and knew he could handle it. But it wasn't the General who stepped out of the shadows to fight him. It was his father. Zuko gasped in horror and hurriedly apologised, hardly able to believe that this was actually happening._

"_Father please, I meant no disrespect, I am your loyal son."_

_Ozai glared at him, absolutely merciless, not a tinge of familiarity in his golden gaze, "get up and fight, Prince Zuko." _

"_Please father," Zuko begged._

"_You will learn respect."_

_Blinding pain had engulfed his senses; his face felt like it was on fire. His father had left him moaning in the dirt, stepping over his prone form as if nothing had happened._

_..._

_He had been searching for years, scouring every inch of the world for just a glimpse – a rumour – of his quarry. But nary a sign existed of the avatar's presence. It was as if he had simply vanished._

"_He has to be here," Zuko growled, thumping his fist on the side rail._

"_And if he is not?" His uncle asked mildly._

"_He has to be." Zuko replied, and then softer, "he has to be."_

_A bright light streamed from somewhere in the ice, and Zuko's heart quickened._

"_That's him," he said with a certainty that defied all doubts. A hope that had buried itself deep within him rose to the surface, burning with renewed vigour – the avatar was alive._

_..._

_He was swathed in black, bar an ornate blue mask with a white pattern etched into the surface. The mask smiled creepily, gaping mouth open in pure mockery of a grin, gold shone from the depths of the holes that served it for eyes. His swords slung on his back, he crept stealthily down the hall, alert and listening for the slightest movement. A sound to his right marked two guards around the next corner. He slowly drew even with the edge and flattened himself up against it, drawing his sword and angling it slightly so that he could observe the reflection. The guards had their backs to him. He sheathed the sword and snuck behind them, disarming and knocking them unconscious in a few swift movements. He stepped over their prone forms and pushed the doors they were guarding open. There he was – the avatar. He grinned beneath the mask; he fervently hoped Zhao had told the Fire Lord he had captured the Avatar._

_..._

_He was lying somewhere; dazed, confused. His eyes flickered open and the memories came back in a flash. Zhao, the blue mask, the avatar...he'd blacked out during the escape. He saw the Avatar sitting on a log near him, they must've escaped then. The avatar was saying something..._

"_Do you think, if this war had never happened, we could've been friends?" His voice sounded small and sad._

_Zuko considered the question but found that he couldn't answer it. Could they have been friends? He didn't know, and he didn't want to find out – this life was what he had, what use was hoping for a better one? He lashed out, fire streaming towards the small monk. He caught one last glimpse of sad, ancient, eyes, before the Avatar was gone._

_..._

_It was cold. Freezing. He was dragging the unconscious body of the Avatar through the snow. It was heavy – dead weight – and, strong as he was, he struggled to place one foot in front of the other. Snow was flying all around, pelting him, chilling him to the very bone. He had very little energy left; barely enough to create a decent fire. If he didn't get out of this blizzard soon, they would both die. He spotted a cave and desperately trudged towards it, he wasn't going to die, damn it, if there was one thing Zuko didn't do, it was die. He would never lie down, he would never give up. He reached the cave and collapsed gratefully into the barest rise in temperature. Dropping the Avatar's body, he cupped his hand and willed a small spark into it. The spark flickered into life and grew as Zuko's strength slowly restored itself. The air was warming up slightly, but Zuko could still see the Avatar's body wracked with shivers. He moved closer, bringing the fire as near as he could without singeing the other's skin – it wouldn't do for his prisoner to die, after all._

_..._

_He stood with his Uncle by the bank of a river in the Earth Kingdom. Iroh was slowly cutting his top-knot, an unreadable look on his face. Zuko wrapped his hand around his own ponytail, drawing his sword to the edge of the hair, and paused. He was officially deserting the Fire Nation. Azula had found him earlier and told him that his Father wanted him back. She had sounded so sincere, so honest, that he had believed her. But since when did Azula tell the truth? She had tricked him; only intending to drag him back to his Father in chains. His Father; who had banished him when he was fourteen, for whose hollow love he had spent two years scouring the world for the Avatar. He would never have it now. Never. He sliced resolutely through the pony tail and dangled it over the river. He nodded to his Uncle and the two of them dropped them together, watching the last remnants of their loyalty to the Fire Nation flow down the stream. Zuko privately thought that his hope was flowing with it._

_..._

_He was alone: utterly and completely alone. Where his Uncle was, he knew not, probably in the cave where he'd left him. He'd had to do it, he'd had to leave him. Everyone he loved grew to hate him eventually. He couldn't bear it if his Uncle did, too. He was selfish, he knew, wanting to keep that love no matter the cost, but it was the only thing that had gotten him through so many tough years. The only thing that had kept him going before the quest for the Avatar had fuelled his determination and occupied his every waking thought. He couldn't risk that. But he missed his Uncle, more than he could have imagined. He missed that slow drawl, those wise – if nearly always cryptic – words, he even missed the relentless determination to force him to try every type of tea in existence._

_His ostrich horse let out a small 'caw' – it was thirsty. So was he, though, and he didn't known when they'd next find water so he nudged it on._

"_Just a little further," he murmured, unknowing how true or false that statement might be._

_..._

_His uncle was lying on the ground; motionless. Zuko's eyes widened, "no," he yelled and rushed over to his side. He was almost weeping; how could this have happened? He had separated from his Uncle to avoid just this; he didn't want him to starting hating him, and he didn't want him to get hurt for him. One of the two always happened to the people Zuko loved. He ghosted his hands over his Uncle's chest, feeling it rise slightly; he was alive! Zuko felt others crowd him and instinctively lashed out, blinded by fear and pain._

"_Get away," he yelled; ignoring their words, he was just so tired of this. Tired of everything going wrong; of nothing going right...he was just so __**tired**__. They left. _

_..._

_He flung open the doors and there it was; the Avatar's bison, chained to the floor. It's large head turned towards him as it let out an ear-splitting roar._

"_Quiet," he snapped, if the stupid thing didn't shut up it was going to bring the Dai Li down on his head. It paused and regarded him with intelligent brown eyes. He stepped forward, "you're mine now."_

_..._

_Zuko watched the Avatar's bison fly off into the distance and sighed. He didn't know whether he'd done the right thing; he'd found the Avatar, he'd captured his bison and he'd let them both escape. Had he truly given up on returning to the Fire Nation? On gaining his Father's love? Zuko scoffed, yeah right, as if he'd ever gain his father's love. There was nothing he could do in that respect. But still, his heart yearned to return to the Fire Nation – his home, even if there was little to return to. He turned to his Uncle, unsure and seeking guidance._

"_You did the right thing, Nephew," Iroh told him warmly, "Leave it behind."_

_Zuko dropped the mask and watched as it sunk into the depths of the lake, letting his need to capture the Avatar sink with it. He had all that was important to him; and it seemed like his Uncle was the one person who would never abandon him._

_..._

_He was trapped deep beneath the earth with no hope for escape. The walls glittered with the colours of the crystals that adorned them. Refracted light streamed from all angles and, had he been predisposed towards such things, Zuko might have admired its beauty. He was slumped on the ground, back to a rock, and seemed on the verge of admitting defeat. Azula had captured him and he had no way to escape. She would drag him back to the Fire Nation in chains, have him declared traitor, and then probably execute him; she was just that kind of sister. He hoped his Uncle had escaped; he couldn't bear the thought of dragging him down with him. He heard a noise as the ground shifted and someone was shoved through a hole that appeared in the ceiling of the cave. His eyes widened as he recognised the water tribe girl that travelled with the Avatar. He watched as she leapt to her feet and, having not noticed him, began yelling to be let out. _

"_It's no use," he muttered._

_She gasped and spun around, before backing away as she recognised him._

"_Why did they throw you in here?" she accused, "oh wait, let me guess, it's a trap. So when Aang shows up to rescue me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches."_

_Zuko said nothing, not entirely sure he even had the right to defend himself. Katara continued ranting at him and he drifted off for awhile, until she accused him of having violence and hatred in his blood._

"_You don't know what you're talking about," he said quietly, although sometimes he wasn't so sure. It really did seem like he could do nothing right, so perhaps it __**was**__ in his blood._

"_I don't!" Katara yelled furiously, "How dare you? You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me, personally. The Fire Nation took my mother away from me," she whispered brokenly, turning her back to him and slumping down to the ground. He heard the soft sound of her sobbing, and his heart ached with a familiar pain._

"_I'm sorry," he said softly, "that's something we have in common." _

_Katara turned her head and met his eyes, a bewildered look adorning her face as she wiped a tear from her cheek._

_There was silence for a few moments, both wrapped in their own curiously similar thoughts; just how much the Fire Nation had truly taken away from them._

"_I'm sorry I yelled at you," Katara apologised._

"_It doesn't matter," Zuko told her, as far as he was concerned she had every right to have done so._

"_It's just that," she paused, "for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face."_

"_My face," Zuko muttered, he knew he deserved it, "I see." He ghosted fingers across his face and wished – as he had done many times – that the scar would just disappear. It was a permanent reminder of his failings and, try as he might, he couldn't shake the hold it had on him. He felt that it defined him; it represented him in all his limited, broken, glory. He would never be free of its haunting presence. _

"_No, no," Katara said hurriedly, "that's not what I meant."_

"_It's ok," he said slowly, and maybe it was, "I used to think this scar marked me," I still do, "The mark of a banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever," he said somewhat bitterly, he had failed that, too, "But lately," his thought of his Uncle, of freeing the Bison, of deciding to let the Avatar go from his mind, "I've realised I'm free to determine my own destiny," it was almost a question he was asking himself, was he free? Sure, the scar would be a reminder –forever – of his mistakes, but he didn't have to let it determine his future. "even if I'll never be free of my mark."_

"_Maybe you could be free of it."_

_Zuko turned to Katara, hope flooding through his body, "what?"_

"_I have healing abilities," she said earnestly, and Zuko was taken aback by how easily she had accepted him – forgiven him, even._

"_It's a scar," he said bitterly, burying that hope again, "It can't be healed."_

_He watched as she pulled something from under her shirt, it was a tiny bottle; ornately decorated in the symbols of the water tribe._

"_This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I have been saving it for something important," she rose to her feet and walked over to him, "I don't know if it would work, but..."_

_Zuko stared at her. Was she really offering what he thought she was? How could she, after all he'd done to her? Her deep blue eyes were gazing at him earnestly, the little bottle lying in her outstretched hand. He had no right whatsoever to accept this, how could he? He looked away, knowing that he was absolutely unable to refuse. Again, how could he? The scar had haunted him from the moment he had received it at the hands of his father. If he could be free of it..? He closed his eyes and bowed his head; he was weak. He didn't deserve this...he felt a cool hand on his cheek, gentle and hesitant. Could she really do it?_

_He would never find out._

_..._

_Iroh, trapped in a mound of crystal, looked around as if searching for those who had put him there. Azula stepped menacingly into the room accompanied by a few members of the Dai Li._

"_I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko, Prince Zuko...you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?" Her voice cold, calculated._

"_Release him immediately," Zuko demanded._

"_It's not too late for you Zuko," Azula said slyly, "you can still redeem yourself."_

"_The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh advised him, an almost pleading quality to his voice._

"_Why don't you let him decide, Uncle ," she fixed Zuko with an unwavering gaze, "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honour back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want."_

_Zuko's heart froze, everything he wanted? Everything he had longed for these unfathomably long years? Everything he had given up hope of having?_

"_Zuko," Iroh pleaded, "I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want."_

_Zuko looked back and forth, utterly confused and torn. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. For so long he had wanted nothing more than to be restored in his father's eyes, in the eyes of his country but...was that still what he wanted?_

"_You are free to choose," Azula said, almost gently._

_So he did._

_..._

"_I thought you had changed!" Katara yelled at him, extinguishing his fire with waves of water._

"_I have changed," he retorted, and he had. He was no longer as confused as he had been. He had chosen his path, he was going home. He ignored the twinge of doubt, the small voice in his mind that screamed 'betrayal'. Betrayal of his Uncle, betrayal of himself._

_..._

_He watched the Avatar rise, glowing, almost in awe. Suddenly lightning lanced from behind him and he flinched as it slammed into the Avatar's chest. His heart plummeted as the Avatar fell to the ground; dead. _

"_No," he whispered, shocked and suddenly in an immense pain he couldn't fathom. What had he done?_

_..._

_He stood overlooking the vast palace gardens, fancily dressed in Fire Nation finery. The head piece of the crown prince rested in his top knot. He had everything he wanted. His people had welcomed him back with open arms. His father was proud of him, __**proud of him**__. He surveyed the gardens dispassionately, everything seemed so dull lately. He had no passion for life anymore, no drive. He was, he mused, starting to resemble Mai. Only beneath his apathy lay a veritable volcano of rage and hatred. It simmered and boiled deep down in the depths of his heart and he could feel it there, but he couldn't understand the reason for its presence. He was happy, wasn't he?_

_Wasn't he?_

_..._

_Mai wrapped her arms around his neck, deceptively docile brown eyes staring into wandering golden ones._

"_Where's your head today, Zuko?" A carefully constructed mono-tone drifted past his ears, barely registering in his mind._

"_Huh?" he asked absentmindedly. _

_She slapped him on the arm, "don't ignore me."_

_He blinked and focused on her sharp face, "what?"_

"_I said," she repeated impatiently, "where's your head today? You're off with the clouds, or something."_

"_Oh," he said softly, pulling away from her embrace, "sorry, I'm just...distracted."_

"_No kidding," She said, slightly grumpy, "what's your problem?"_

"_There's no problem," he denied._

"_...sure," she agreed sarcastically._

_He sighed, "I just...I don't know," he said, anger appearing out of nowhere, "okay? I just don't know."_

"_Sheesh," she muttered and left him alone to vent his sudden anger at the mocking clouds._

_..._

_He was lost. Confused. Angry. So, so, very angry he was blinded with it. It was all he could feel sometimes, just an intense, perpetual, anger. He lashed out at everyone and anyone. Only Azula and Mai bothered to come near him anymore. Azula; because she wasn't afraid of anything and Mai; because for some unfathomable reason...she loved him. Or at the very least; she didn't hate him – which was almost the same thing really._

_Everything was so confusing lately. He didn't know how he felt about anything; all he could feel at the moment was anger; anger at the most ridiculous things. Some poor serving girl had dared ask him if he wanted his hair combed, now not a force in the world could get her to touch his door with a ten foot pole, let alone step into his room. Ty Lee had told him to 'cheer up', he'd reduced her to tears in moments, and for weeks following the incident she'd avoided him like the plague. Mai had told him his hair was looking 'scruffy', he'd almost shaved it off in a fit of rage– luckily she'd grabbed his arm and calmed him down before he went through with it. He shuddered briefly at the thought; he'd probably have looked like some ridiculous bald monk...like the Avatar._

_His anger flared up again and smoke wafted out of his nostrils. He took a calming breath and ignored the servant who fled from his warpath. He was going on a walk; a long one, and he wasn't coming back until he'd sorted this whole 'displaced anger', as Ty Lee called it, out. He knew just the place for the job._

_..._

Zuko groaned as his head throbbed and briefly registered a touch at his cheek. He flinched and scrambled back, fumbling to his feet. Anger, hot and burning, flared within him, such that he hadn't felt since that day in the golden forest.

"You lied to me." He accused, pain and rage lacing his tone, voice deadly.

"I, we," Katara's voice wobbled.

"How could you?" He yelled, "What right did you have?"

"Tell them Zuko," Azula smirked.

"Shut _up_!" He whirled on her, sparks literally flying from his hair. Azula raised her hands in suppliance and remained quiet; things were going her way anyway.

"Why did you do it?" He turned back to Katara, voice breaking infinitesimally, "why?"

Katara was at a loss as to how to respond. Obviously she couldn't reference Aang in Azula's presence; she was going to have to lie.

"We..." she faltered, "Always wanted you to join-"

"You're lying," he said flatly, "tell me the _truth_."

"We just...we didn't want you as our enemy anymore," she all but yelled, "okay? We were tired of the chasing, the fighting, we just-" she desperately hoped he wouldn't call her out on this, "Aang was _dead_," she whispered brokenly, "and he always wanted you on our side."

"How touching," Azula sneered and then immediately backed off at Zuko's ferocious glare.

"Why?" Zuko's anger was full of confusion, what had he ever done to make Aang even remotely _think_ of liking him? But something in her voice rang true.

"Because that's the way he is – was," she said softly, "it's the avatar way."

"The avatar way?" Zuko scoffed, "yeah, he was gonna be real avatar-like when he destroyed my father."

"_Some _people are a lost cause," she said, "but you weren't – aren't." Her voice was almost agonisingly hopeful.

Anger flared in his chest, "you're wrong," he said quietly, "I am."

It was true, he was. He didn't deserve their acceptance, their friendship. He didn't deserve it and, quite frankly, at the moment he didn't want it. He felt grossly betrayed and somehow disillusioned. He had thought Aang above this kind of thing, he had thought the _avatar_ was pure, uncontaminated by the evils of the world. But here was the proof – the terrible truth – that Aang was as mortal and sinful as anyone else on the planet. How could people place their trust, their hope, in a being as fundamentally flawed as they were? A great weight descended on his heart and he turned his face away from the pleading eyes of the water tribe girl, he refused to call her by name.

"Let's go," he said to Azula, ignoring the pained sob Ka-the water tribe girl – emitted from behind him.

She smiled gleefully, "I knew you'd come back," she said silkily, "you're no traitor."

He was in no mood for her games, though, so he simply ignored her, "call them off and let's go."

Azula raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, "and let them go, just like that? Why _Zuzu_, did those bumpkins get to you?"

"Just let them go," Zuko said bitterly, "what possible threat are they, to you, without their precious avatar? They have no hope, and no chance. Why waste your time?"

"...you're right," Azula said slyly, "but why let them go unscathed?"

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked warily.

"I mean we should leave them something to remember us by," she grinned maliciously, "a...brand of sorts."

"Just you _try_," Katara threatened, voice high with emotion, shaking away the unshed tears that gathered in her eyes.

Azula sauntered up, "aren't we awfully brave," she teased maliciously, "what're you lot doing here, anyway? Planning an _invasion_ are we? Going to take down the Fire lord by ourselves?"

"You will be defeated," Katara refused to back down.

"Is that so?" Azula shrugged, "we'll see," she turned to Zuko, "do it."

"No." He glared at her, "this is stupid, I'm going home."

"Father will hear about this," Azula threatened, "and we don't want him questioning your loyalty..."

"Hah," Zuko barked a strange sort of bitter laughter, "when hasn't he?"

Azula narrowed her eyes, "do it, now."

"Make me." His eyes were steely and savage. He wasn't backing down; he wasn't anyone's puppet anymore. He knew his past, he knew his present, and his future was _his_ to control. Not his sister's and most definitely not some ragtag group of lying children.

Azula sensed his unwavering resolve, "you _have_ changed, brother," she said almost respectfully, "but don't think you can beat me now," she warned, "I'll always surpass you."

He surveyed her coldly, "...we'll see."

Fierce gold met hardened brown and the two siblings entered a staring contest of wills. Neither was willing to back down. Finally, Azula looked away a small smirk on her face.

"Very well," she said silkily, "Mai, Ty Lee, let them go, we're leaving." She sauntered off back the way she came, leaving the others to follow in her wake.

Zuko watched her briefly, he knew better than to think he'd won – that's what Azula wanted. Ty Lee and Mai neared him, the former bubbling with slightly wary happiness, the latter as unreadable as always.

"Hi Zuko," Ty Lee grinned, "nice to see you back."

"...yeah," he said noncommittally, the anger had died down slightly but he could feel it simmering.

Mai placed a soft hand on his shoulder, "you alright?"

"I'm fine," he shook her off, he felt nothing for her and hadn't for awhile.

"Yeah well good," she grabbed his chin, "now I forgive you this once because you had amnesia and forgot we were in a relationship," she told him, "but if you _ever_ even _think_ about cheating on me again..." she whispered the last part in his ear. Zuko didn't doubt that she could make it happen. He nodded.

"Good," she joined Ty Lee and the two headed off after Azula.

Zuko looked back to where Katara, Sokka and Toph were standing. Katara had tears in her eyes and Sokka had his arm wrapped protectively around her, glaring slightly when he caught Zuko's gaze. Zuko looked away, that part of his life was over and they were no longer his friends – should never have been in the first place. He looked back once more before walking off, feeling two pairs of eyes trained on his back. He knew they were confused and worried about whether he was going to tell Azula about the Avatar. Was he? He didn't know for sure.

"Zuko?" He turned to see Toph running towards him, he slowed and waited, curious as to what she was going to say.

"Stay," she said without preamble once she'd reached him.

"What?" He said intelligently.

"Stay," she repeated, "don't go with them."

"Why should I stay?" He half-yelled, "you all _lied _to me, we were _never_ friends, and we never should be."

"Do you really believe that?" She asked softly.

"Yes!" he said without thinking, "we should _never_ have been friends."

"Then maybe you _should_ go," she yelled, "we'd be glad to get rid of you."

"I am!" He spun around and stomped off, angrier than he'd been before.

"Wait, Zuko," Toph called.

"What?" He whirled.

Are you going to tell...about Aang?" He saw her carefully place a foot deep in the earth to make sure she knew whether he was telling the truth or not.

"...no," he said finally, "it won't matter, you won't win."

"We will." She turned and walked away.

He stared after her until he could hear Azula summoning him, "...I know you will." He said softly, realising with a shock that he believed it to be true. How could he, though, when he had lost all faith in the avatar? But he guessed that his subtle reverence of the Avatar had stemmed from his belief that Aang was above him – better than him – in some ethereal, immortal, way. That somehow Aang was pure and good, a beacon of light in a world engulfed by darkness. But one did not need to be pure _or_ good to win a war, to end a life, one simply needed to exist. And that, at least, was true for Aang – he existed.

...

A/N: Well that was a _monster_ of a chapter and it seems it picked the long road. So there will be at least two more chapters to this, maybe three, we'll see...

Sorry about all the memories but it had to be done! I needed to show the development of Zuko's character, so hopefully it wasn't too painful for you all ;)

Thanks again to my faithful reviewers, I really appreciate your feedback You all make my day a gloriously bright and happy one.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I have officially been camped in front of this laptop for an hour, and I haven't written a thing. This chapter is going to be _painful_ – that is, if it actually eventuates.

Alright, so I'm assuming you all saw the invasion episodes, therefore this chapter will focus primarily on Zuko. What the gang does is pretty much the same as the episodes leading up to and including the invasion, but with a little Zuko angst involved. I'll highlight some of it though.

This catches up to the series storyline, so...let's see, episode 5 – the ember island one - happened _before_ the amnesia, combustion man has been hired, this stuff will be while Aang and the others are preparing for the invasion. Basically, the few episodes before the invasion.

...

Are you going to tell...about Aang?" He saw her carefully place a foot deep in the earth to make sure she knew whether he was telling the truth or not.

"...no," he said finally, "it won't matter, you won't win."

"We will." She turned and walked away.

He stared after her until he could hear Azula summoning him, "...I know you will." He said softly, realising with a shock that he believed it to be true. How could he, though, when he had lost all faith in the avatar? But he guessed that his subtle reverence of the Avatar had stemmed from his belief that Aang was above him – better than him – in some ethereal, immortal, way. That somehow Aang was pure and good, a beacon of light in a world engulfed by darkness. But one did not need to be pure _or_ good to win a war, to end a life, one simply needed to exist. And that, at least, was true for Aang – he existed.

...

"Zuko!" the obnoxiously loud voice of his sister assailed his ears and he dragged his eyes away from the Earth bender's retreating form and slowly turned, heels digging into the dusty ground. Trudging almost reluctantly, and not quite able to pinpoint the reason, he headed in the direction of her voice, ignoring three pairs of questioning eyes as he neared their war balloon. He felt empty – almost hollow – even the questionable comfort of anger had abandoned him, leaving him strangely distant from the world. He no longer felt betrayed, even; a general sense of apathy had descended over his entire being. He felt directionless, purposeless, a sailboat with no tiller, a song with no meaning. He simply existed, and for no point at all it seemed. After all, he'd bounced between the two sides like a particularly troubled ping-pong ball, seemingly useless to both and needed by neither. He knew his sister held no real feelings for him, it was simply who she was. Privately, he thought she was a sociopath – literally incapable of feeling true emotion - but that was pure speculation.

Ty Lee, he knew, didn't think much of him one way or the other; she was Azula's – he hesitated to say 'friend' – follower, and had never had all that much to do with him. Mai, well, who even knew? Getting her to admit to even knowing what emotions _were_ was akin to asking a Swallow-fish to breathe air – practically impossible. He couldn't say with any amount of certainty whether she cared about his existence or simply tolerated it.

He had thought, for that blissfully ignorant week, that the Avatar and his friends had cared for him. Of course he hadn't known at the time that they possessed a mutual hatred and loathing of one another, and their insistence that they had been 'friends' before his amnesia certainly hadn't cleared things up. Still, he could remember what it was like to be 'friends' with them and, try as he might, he couldn't quite dismiss the less than hateful – in fact, positively _un_hateful – feelings he still held for them. But they didn't care about him, and oh how they'd fooled him. They'd taken advantage of the amnesia and they'd _used_ him. He was nothing more than a tool; to be used when convenient, and disposed of when the newer, better, model came along. Katara had been the only one who hadn't done it from the start; but in the end she'd been even worse than all of them.

He felt no real bitterness, though, just a terrible sense of abstract _awareness_. He climbed into the balloon, avoiding the cold, calculating, gaze that followed him, and slumped on the rope rail. It felt _wrong_ in a way that he couldn't describe. This whole thing just didn't sit right with him, and he thought – no, he _knew_ – that Azula had sensed his unrest. She was shrewd and sharp, and she missed nothing. She knew his thoughts at this point in time better, perhaps, that he himself knew them. He felt no current danger from her, though; but she would use it when the time was right. She was a master at biding her time, refusing to strike until the last possible moment. He turned slightly to meet her gaze and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, choosing instead to fire up the balloon with a cold, blue, fire.

"So what was it like, living with them?" Ty Lee broke the silence with her cheerful voice, smiling at Zuko with wide, forgiving, eyes. He resolved not to snap at her again; from memory it felt far too much like kicking a puppy-mouse.

"Weird, now that I have my memory back," he admitted, "not that it wasn't weird before," he paused thoughtfully, "yeah, pretty much _weird_."

"What are their plans?" Azula butted in, "they must be planning something."

Zuko hesitated and ran a hand nervously through his hair, what to tell her? He'd promised not to tell about Aang, but about the invasion plan?

"Not much," he said slowly, "like I said before; the Avatar is dead, they have no leader."

"But why are they _here_, in the Fire Nation?" There was a cruel glint in her eyes, like she knew he was keeping something from her. She was, he'd often thought, a walking lie-detector. He supposed it was because she had such vast experience in _telling_ lies that she'd picked up detecting them as well. He hoped she wouldn't ask him point-blank if the avatar was alive or not – she'd probably be able to tell if he straight-out lied to her.

"...they _are_ planning some sort of invasion," he admitted finally, loyalty to the Fire Nation winning out over some abstracted residual loyalty to a bunch of people who'd _lied_ to him, and about some pretty fundamentally important stuff.

"When?" she asked coolly; seemingly unaffected by the news.

"They said something about an eclipse," he mused, wondering at the sharp stab of guilt that followed the statement.

"Oh, I see," she laughed suddenly, chilling him to the bone, "I knew they'd try something, how could they not?"

"You knew about it?" he asked, slightly alarmed, though really he had no need to be. It wasn't as if he was on the Avatar's side anymore...right?

"Oh yes," she pushed more fire into the heart of the balloon, "for months now, it _is_ rather obvious." She chided him mockingly.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing much," she shrugged, "I suspect they'll be looking for Father."

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, turning back to look out at the passing clouds. He felt a deep chill within him at the thought that they were walking into a trap. It was utterly ridiculous; he shouldn't care for them in the slightest. He had his memory back, he knew how he _had_ felt about them and he certainly hadn't wanted to be all buddy-buddy with them. But one week had changed all that, and it seemed that the hatred from the past had vanished altogether. That was perhaps the worst thing they'd done to him; they'd made him care. Despite his previous hatred, despite his feeling of betrayal, and especially despite his fervent desire to completely and utterly _forget_ – ironic, he knew – the entire experience, he _still _cared about them. He hated that, and he hated them for it. It was a curious hate however; it didn't _simmer_ and _burn_ like the hatred he was intimately acquainted with, instead it was just _there_.

Mai came up beside him and rested her arms on the side rail, tilting her head to observe him subtly from behind her bangs. He felt her gaze; bland and unassuming, so unlike the cold, calculating, Azula busily boring holes into his back. She said nothing so he remained silent, unwilling to strike up a conversation with a person for whom his feelings were so conflicted. After all, she might want to talk about them...but this was Mai, so that wasn't really going to happen. He had no excuse, therefore, to _not_ engage her in polite conversation; except that, while she didn't talk about her _own_ feelings, she seemed to have no problems addressing _his_. The silence stretched on, tense and stifling, until he simply couldn't bear it any longer.

"How've you...been?" He said somewhat stiffly.

"Just peachy," she deadpanned, "it's not like my _boyfriend_ vanished for a week, with no explanation."

"...right," he gulped slightly and rubbed the back of his neck, "sorry?" he offered.

"Hmph," she looked away, "I was worried," she spoke so softly he wasn't entirely sure she'd said anything at all, "no one knew where you'd gone, if you were coming back...if you were even _alive_."

He gaped at her, unused to this display of not quite emotion, but _caring_...and then she slapped him on the arm, hard.

"Don't _ever_ do that again," she yelled at him in her quiet, almost unobtrusive way, glaring fiercely into his slightly startled eyes.

"I had _amnesia_," he bit out, staring down at the palms of his hands, spread out on the rail, before him, "you know, _memory loss_."

"So you say," he heard Azula mutter.

He glared at her, "what does _that _mean?" he growled.

"...oh nothing," Azula smirked, a sly look on her pointed face, "you get so worked up, and over nothing at all."

"Nothing?" he asked incredulously, "you're accusing me of _lying_."

"I didn't accuse you of anything," she said irritably, "you read too much into a simple statement."

Whatever retort he might have made was derailed as Mai placed a hand on his shoulder, "let it go," she whispered.

He shrugged her off, wincing slightly at the hurt look in her eyes, clenching his teeth and deciding he was just going to have to ignore Azula – not that _that _ever worked out.

"Have I missed something?" Mai asked softly, studiously looking away as Zuko's gaze flicked to her solemn face.

"What?"

"Since you've been back," she faltered slightly and then backed down, "never mind."

"No, what?" He gently grasped her stubborn chin and moved her to face him. Shocked, he realised that there were actual _tears_ collecting at the corner of her dark eyes. Infinitesimal, almost invisible shimmers, but they were there. "What's wrong?"

She blinked them away hastily, "it's nothing."

"It's not nothing," he argued, "not if it bothers you."

She sighed, "just drop it, Zuko."

"Why?" he was unwilling to let it go, he was just so sick of secrets and lies.

"Please," she muttered, "I don't want to talk about it." She tilted her head almost imperceptibly in the direction of Azula, who was carefully listening to their every word.

"Fine." He jerked his head in a warped imitation of a nod, and returned to leaning on the rail. He gazed out at the endless blue sky, streaks of white cloud swirling across the expanse, and wished he could be somewhere else. Almost before he could stifle the thought, he wished he was with the others. With Aang and Sokka, Toph and...Katara. It was perhaps the greatest cruelty of his situation, he thought, that despite everything they'd done to him he simply couldn't hate them. He didn't believe he ever would – that ship had long since sailed.

...

Sokka watched as Toph ran off after Zuko, arm protectively around Katara's shoulders. He could feel her shaking and there were tears seeping into his shirt. He somehow hadn't expected this to happen. It was foolish, he knew, but he just hadn't anticipated it. At the start, maybe, but after getting to know Zuko, well, the thought that he would _betray_ them had vanished from his mind. Granted; they _had_ lied to him initially, but by the end even _Katara_ had warmed up to him. In fact, judging by the sheer volume of tears dampening his shirt, she had perhaps moved past ambivalent tolerance and straight into actually _liking_ the guy. Now that wasn't unusual of his sister, per se, but where Zuko was concerned it most definitely was. She had trusted him once before and he'd betrayed her, so for her to not only forgive him but actually give him a _second chance_ was nothing short of a miracle. Katara was kind-hearted, but she didn't often do second chances – especially not to the Fire Nation.

This hinted at perhaps something more than simply liking Zuko, in fact if Sokka's suspicions were correct – and they generally always were – and his sister had actually _trusted_ Zuko, then...

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell from Toph, and he looked over to see her storming back towards him. So Zuko had truly left them, then. He felt Katara lift her head from his shoulder and dry her eyes, "thanks Sokka," she said softly.

"What are brothers for, if not to act as your personal handkerchief?" He cracked a smile, attempting to cheer her up when he, himself, felt no cheer. Her mouth barely twitched.

"He won't tell about Aang," Toph told them, still huffing from her encounter with the Fire Prince.

"Are you sure?" Sokka's eyes were hard; they could no longer trust Zuko as they, strangely, had been able to this past week.

"Yeah," Toph scuffed the ground with a dirt-encrusted foot, "He said it didn't matter, that we wouldn't win."

"He would," Sokka scoffed, "a real barrel of sunshine, that one."

"Where_ is_ Aang?" Katara asked, voice wavering slightly.

"He'll be around," Sokka reassured her, "he-"

"I think I hear him now," Toph interrupted, "over there."

Aang walked slowly from the trees Toph had indicated, head hung low and a sad expression on his young face. He trudged up to the group and sighed, fiddling with his shirt and refusing to meet their eyes.

"Guys," he said slowly, "I've got to tell Zuko the truth, I hate lying and I just can't do it any longer."

Sokka couldn't take it anymore; he burst out into a loud guffaw and just laughed out the anger and betrayal. It was a harsh, almost hysterical laughter, and it seemed devoid of any true mirth.

"What's up with him?" Aang gave Sokka a weird look.

"Zuko's gone," Katara said bitterly.

"What?" Aang's eyes widened, "what happened?"

Katara didn't seem inclined to say anything more and Sokka was still recovering from his absurd fit, so Toph sighed and filled him in.

"Azula happened," she told him, "Zuko remembered everything and, when the time came, he left with them. He betrayed us."

"No," Aang's mouth wobbled slightly, "you're wrong...you have to be."

"We all saw it," Katara said angrily, "and we shouldn't have expected anything different from that Fire Nation scum."

"No," Aang said again, "No!" he yelled, "you _liked_ Zuko, we all did, don't talk that way about him."

"He _betrayed_ us," Katara shrieked, brown hair flying wildly around her face, "how can you defend him?"

"Because it was _our_ fault," Aang said, uncharacteristically angry, "we _lied_ to him."

"We cared about him," Katara's eyes were icicles.

"But we lied," Aang refused to back down, silver eyes steely, "and nothing can excuse that."

"Maybe not," Sokka joined in, "but he's not exactly free of all blame."

"How can you say that?" Aang glared at him, "we _forced_ him into our company, he had _amnesia_ he didn't have a _choice_."

"I'm just saying," he held up his hands in a peace gesture.

"He wouldn't let Azula hurt us," Toph said softly, "she wanted to, but he wouldn't let her."

"So what?" Katara yelled.

"He had a difficult choice to make," Toph reminded her, "he had to choose between his Nation – his family – and us."

"Stop _defending_ him!" Katara fumed.

'Well who would _you_ choose?" Toph yelled.

"I'm not listening to this," Katara pushed past Toph and stormed off.

"Narrow-minded, prissy, know-it-all..." Toph muttered, stomping in the opposite direction. Reaching her destination she practically slammed her fists down and two slabs of rock shot out of the earth. Crawling between them, she slammed another slab up.

"She would choose you," Aang looked earnestly at Sokka, "you know that, right?"

"Of course," Sokka said, confused, "what's your point?"

"So how can we expect Zuko to do any different?" Aang asked, his voice high with frustration.

"...we can't," Sokka said finally, "I understand, Aang, really I do." He ran a hand through the hair that had escaped his wolf-tail, "but it doesn't matter – no I'm not finished," he said to halt Aang's fervent protests. "Maybe we can't blame him, but we still can't trust him. He _did_ betray us."

"He didn't owe us anything," Aang said stubbornly.

"No," Sokka agreed, "no he didn't."

...

The sun was setting for the night; tired rays weakly fading from the darkening skies and leaving the world in a strange limbo between night and day. Zuko, leaning heavily on a balcony, gazed out across the vast expanse of his Father's empire and could only just make out the distant mountains – dusted in the gold of the Fire forest – in the approaching twilight. His black hair was loose from its traditional top knot, and a slight wind had it twisting and tangling around his face. He wore nothing of the gaudy finery typical of his rank, adorned instead in a simple robe that flapped gently in the breeze.

His fists were clenched tightly, resting on the rail, and an almost feral anger simmered within him, burning him from the inside out. He was so utterly confused, and inexplicably angry. He had everything he wanted, didn't he? His Father had accepted him – was _proud_ of him, even – and he'd held the place of honour at the war meeting earlier. His country adored him, Mai loved him, so why wasn't he happy? What more could he possibly want?

Yes, he had chickened out of that conversation, and she had never pushed it. They had simply fallen back into the comfort of their previous relationship, it was almost too easy. He found a certain solace in her company, and though he knew she felt more deeply for him than he could return, he pretended there was an understanding between them. He couldn't bear to hurt her, anyway, by telling her the truth. Though he was sick of lies and secrecy, it was _he_ who perpetuated them and it seemed the cold irony of his existence.

There was an ugly hatred lurking inside him, but he knew it wasn't directed towards his Father, Azula, or the Avatar and his friends. No, his hatred was directed solely at himself. But he didn't know _why_ he hated himself, only that he did. He'd told Azula and others at Ember Island that he was angry at himself and it had been true. He'd said it was because he wasn't sure whether he knew the difference between right and wrong anymore, and maybe that was true too. But he wasn't entirely sure that he'd _ever_ really known the difference; the lines had always been muddled in his mind. Choosing right had _always_ meant loosing something he desperately wanted, and yet choosing wrong had _always_ meant loosing a part of himself. His Uncle had been responsible for nearly all the good decisions he'd made in his life, and he'd lost that guidance at Ba Sing Se. No, he hadn't lost it; he'd thrown in back in his Uncle's face. He'd tossed it away so carelessly – like petty trash – and hadn't realised just how important it was to him, just how much he _needed_ to hear those wise words.

He truly was an idiot; a fool to have turned his back on the only good influence in his life, to have so utterly betrayed the only person who cared about him. He'd done it more than once, too. The Avatar and his friends had cared about him – at least he thought they had – and he'd turned his back on them as well. True, they had lied to him, but, honestly, he couldn't really blame them for it. He'd have done the same, in their place.

He should have stayed with them. He should never have joined Azula; and maybe he wouldn't have if he'd been thinking properly. But he was just so _angry _and hurt that he couldn't think straight. It always happened that way, his temper flared up and common sense was booted out the window. He always regretted the things he said and did when in a rage, but every time it happened the same way. He really did need to learn to control his temper. It was even worse lately; with all the pent up anger and hatred he felt towards himself. It took very little to enrage him these days.

It was now truly night, and the land was engulfed in an endless darkness. It was a time of night that comforted him somehow, for reasons he couldn't fathom. He, like every other Fire bender, felt keenly the passing of the sun. Its energy fuelled and nourished him, and he disliked the night for that reason. But lately he'd found solace in the quiet solitude it provided, he enjoyed watching the silvery moon and marvelled at its beauty.

But tonight it brought him no solace, no comfort; for tomorrow was the day of the eclipse. Tomorrow, was the day of the invasion. Tonight his Father would take to the secret evacuation chambers like the coward he was. There he would wait until the eclipse had passed, until the Avatar had lost the advantage he hoped for. Tonight, Azula busily organised guards – benders and non benders alike – around the palace in an attempt to lead the Avatar astray. He would assume the heavily guarded palace _must_ contain the Fire Lord, he would assume and he would be wrong. They wouldn't realise that Azula _knew_ until the last possible moment. She hadn't even told the guards the eclipse was happening – thus the benders positioned at the gates. He could see tiny flames dotted around the walls as they took up their positions.

The Avatar's plan would surely fail...unless, what if he left now? What if he _told_ them Azula knew? But how would he even find them? And why would they believe him? They wouldn't, it was useless. There was nothing he could do to help them now. But he could make sure that if they escaped – for they could not possibly win – that he escaped with them. They may not trust him, they may hate him, but he could try.

The sky was almost imperceptibly lighter; dawn was approaching. Soon the invasion would begin, and he had made up his mind. He couldn't be the person his Father wanted him to be; he couldn't act the perfect prince. He no longer believed in the ideals of his predecessors, could no longer see the supposed good they were doing for the world. It had all been a lie, one colossal lie to cover up Sozin's conquering ambitions. The Fire Nation had never done any good for the world, it had all been for their own selfish gain. He could see that now, and perhaps he had always known it. His Uncle certainly had. And that was another thing; once he had confronted his Father – and he was going to have to – he was going to free his Uncle. The two of them would help the Avatar, would restore honour to the nation they loved.

And in the restoration of his nation's honour, he knew he would somehow find his own.

But first, there was something he had to take care of. He couldn't leave Mai with no explanation this time, he owed her the truth. He didn't have time for a full blown argument, though, dawn was fast approaching and the invasion was soon to begin. He would have to take the cowards option and write a letter. She deserved better, but it was all he could do. He hurried back inside his room and rifled through his drawers for a brush and a clean piece of paper. Finding them, he sat down at his desk and dipped the brush into an inkpot. He poised above the paper, holding the sleeve of his robe with his free hand, breathed deeply, and began to write the words he knew would crush the heart of someone he loved. For he did love her, if not romantically, and he knew now that she would always mean something to him.

_Dear Mai,_

_I don't exactly know how to say this, so I suppose I might as well just get it over with. In any case, I won't be around when you read this so I guess now or five lines later won't really make much of a difference. But I'm stalling. For the last few weeks – since I betrayed Uncle in Ba Sing Se – I've been feeling a multitude of emotions that, for so long, I just couldn't fathom. I was angry, most of all; at my Father, at Azula, at myself. I was angry at the world. But what I failed to realise was the cause of that anger; I was angry because I had failed myself, but more importantly – I had failed my Uncle. I know that now, and I cannot ignore it. Now, more than ever, I feel I have a purpose. I used to think my destiny was to capture the Avatar, now I realise that while my future __**is**__ entwined with his, my purpose is not to stop him, but to help him. I must restore balance to the world by joining him. _

_I know the world will see me as a traitor –that you will, as well, – but I must do what I believe to be right, I know now that it is all we __**can**__ do. But honestly, I do not see my actions as traitorous. This, what Sozin has done, is not the future of the world – of the Fire Nation. How __**can**__ it be? This world has always been about balance; the four nations represent the elements, and it is only when these elements – these nations – live in harmony, that the world will be at peace. Sozin claimed we were sharing our 'prosperity' with the other nations, but I can see now that he was either lying or simply deranged. You'd have to be, to think enslaving the other nations constituted as peace._

_In any case; I don't expect you to forgive me, I simply want you to understand. _

_If only that was the worst of it. Mai, I've struggled with how to write this; what to say...understand that I do not mean to hurt you. Believe me, it is the __**last**__ thing I wish to do. You are the only person in the Fire Nation I care about; you and my Uncle are my true family. I love you, Mai, but I am no longer __**in love**__with you. I wish I didn't have to say this now, in this way, but how can I – in good conscience – leave like this, and not make sure we both know where we stand? Mai, you're my best friend – my sister – and unfortunately, I have a history of hurting the people who mean the most to me._

_I'm truly sorry._

_Zuko_

Small black splotches seeped onto the page as Zuko stared into the distance, lost in thought. Had he said everything? He supposed that he had, he'd told her he was leaving and that he thought of her, now, purely as a friend – a sister. That was all he'd wanted to accomplish. Looking down at his signature he noticed the splotches and yelped, hurriedly removing the brush, and surveyed the damage with a slightly slanted eyebrow. It would have to do, he was running out of time – the invasion force was storming the palace and he had to find his father.

...

A/N: I do not know if I'm happy with this...but it's been too long since the last update so I stuck it up anyway. I dunno, I'm just not getting the usual vibe...


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